#13784 Pietro Perugino (1445-1523)

Description of Pietro Perugino’s painting St. Sebastian

The painting, recognized by the worldwide artistic community as a masterpiece by Pietro Perugino, is such mainly because of its unique composition, although the image of Saint Sebastian itself is conveyed quite canonically for that era. The huge arch serving as the background of the painting allows us to visually stretch out the image, giving Sebastian a truly gigantic size.

The crystal clarity of the air, the silence of the celestial distance, the serenity and calm that reigns on the background of the unfolding tragedy, create a unique image of the Saint, his face also does not express any suffering, full of hope, the purest reverence, Sebastian gaze is humbly directed to heaven. The arrows that plunge into the skin of the righteous do not hurt him, halfway to Paradise, Sebastian ceases to feel a physical connection with the mortal earth, his pure gaze is directed to a place where there is no pain or suffering.

As a Roman soldier, Sebastian served in the personal imperial guard, but was executed for his unwavering faith in Christ. Other artists who painted St. Sebastian, sentenced to execution by firing squad, were attracted by the opportunity to portray the full beauty of the human body. Pietro Perugino, however, did it best.

The famous Italian painter of the early Renaissance was highly regarded for his work, Perugino was a teacher of Raphael, a man who created unique proportions and perspectives, who at the same time did not deviate from the canons of classical painting.

Monumental painting brought the artist his first fame, and his frescoes, which have hardly survived to this day, are also considered an integral part of the artistic heritage of mankind. Pietro Perugino, like many other outstanding artists of the era, was invited to paint the Sistine Chapel by the Pope himself.