Artwork
Saint Sebastian
Saint Sebastian is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Tanzio da Varallo. It dates from 1625 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Saint Sebastian is executed in oil on canvas, a medium consistent with Tanzio da Varallo's broader practice in early seventeenth-century Lombard painting.
Saint Sebastian is executed in oil on canvas, a medium consistent with Tanzio da Varallo's broader practice in early seventeenth-century Lombard painting. The canvas support measures 117.3 by 93.7 centimeters, yielding a vertical format suited to the standing figure of the martyr. The work is classified as a religious painting and depicts Saint Sebastian tended by Saint Irene, a subject that allowed Tanzio to combine devotional narrative with the display of the male nude.
As part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the canvas has been preserved within a major institutional collection since its 1939 gift, supporting its survival in stable condition. The sources confirm only the medium, support, dimensions, and classification, without further detail on handling, surface condition, or specific stylistic analysis.
History & Provenance
The painting, dated 1620, was first recorded in 1916 in the possession of the Milanese antiquarian Tomei, where Roberto Longhi reattributed it from Rubens to Tanzio da Varallo. By 1922 it belonged to the Milanese collector Achillito Chiesa, who still held it in 1924 before his bankruptcy forced the dispersal of his holdings through sales in New York and Europe. The work subsequently entered the collection of Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi in Florence.
In 1935 the Samuel H. Kress Foundation purchased the painting in New York, and in 1939 it was donated to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection.
The Saint Sebastian by Tanzio da Varallo is held in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it is part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. The painting was accessioned by the museum in 1939 following its acquisition by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1935 from Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi of Florence. Prior to this, the work was owned by Achillito Chiesa of Milan (by 1922 until at least 1924) and earlier by the Tomei antiquarian collection in Milan (1916).
The painting has been exhibited as part of the National Gallery’s permanent collection, though specific loan exhibitions are not detailed in the available records.
Overview
Antonio d’Enrico, known as Tanzio da Varallo, created Saint Sebastian around 1625. This oil on canvas painting exemplifies the early Baroque period in Italy. It presents the Christian martyr Saint Sebastian, a figure frequently depicted in religious art.
Tanzio was a prominent Lombard painter of his era, contributing significantly to the artistic landscape of the early 17th century.
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays Saint Sebastian, a Christian martyr, bound to a tree and pierced by arrows. Despite the visible wounds and implied physical torment, the saint's face maintains a serene expression, his gaze directed heavenward. This juxtaposition of intense suffering with spiritual tranquility offers a distinctive interpretation of a common religious narrative, highlighting the martyr's unwavering faith in the face of death.
Context
Executed during the early 17th century, Saint Sebastian reflects the artistic environment of Lombardy, Italy, where Tanzio da Varallo was a leading figure. He worked alongside notable contemporaries such as Giovanni Battista Crespi and Giulio Cesare Procaccini, contributing to the vibrant religious art scene of the early Baroque. This period saw a renewed emphasis on dramatic and emotionally resonant depictions of sacred subjects.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Antonio d'Enrico, called Tanzio da Varallo, or simply il Tanzio (c. 1575/1580 – c. 1632/1633) was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerist or early Baroque period. With Giovanni Battista Crespi, Giulio Cesare Procaccini…
