1628
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
St. Sebastian is a 1628 by Jusepe de Ribera, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A young man stands tied to a tree, his body twisted toward the sky. His face is calm, almost peaceful, as if he’s already somewhere else. Ribera drew this in red chalk, adding ink to sharpen the shadows. He was fascinated by how suffering could look beautiful—how a body stretched in pain could still feel graceful. The arrows haven’t hit yet, so the moment is quiet, full of waiting. If you like this, look up *chiaroscuro*—the way light and dark play together to make figures feel alive.
This subtly drawn study in red chalk with ink accents depicts the moment just before the Roman soldier Sebastian was shot through with arrows for refusing to renounce his Christian faith. The young martyr turns hopefully toward heaven as if comforted by divine light. Ribera favored the subject because it allowed him to study the expressive possibilities of the bound human figure. A number of related drawings by the artist from the same period treat similar themes of saints bound in punishment. Although Spanish by birth, Jusepe de Ribera spent most of his life in Naples, where he became the…
This is one of a group of drawings by Jusepe de Ribera that represent male saints in scenes of torture and deprived of physical liberty.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Jusepe de Ribera (Valencian: ; baptised 17 February 1591 – 3 November 1652) was a Spanish painter and printmaker.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
![Studies of Legs and Drapery [recto]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/93eb35075fbdb28d/thumb.webp)
