Antonio Balestra Martyrdom of Saints Cosmas and Damian 1718 oil on canvas Basilica di Santa Giustina, Padua |
Michele Rocca Virgin Martyrs before 1751 oil on canvas Palazzo Buonaccorsi, Macerata |
Anonymous Italian Artist Martyrdom of St Agnes ca. 1700-1750 oil on panel Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham |
Giambattista Tiepolo Martyrdom of St Agatha ca. 1750 oil on canvas Gemäldegalerie, Berlin |
Antonio Bellucci St Sebastian tended by St Irene ca. 1716-18 oil on canvas Dulwich Picture Gallery, London |
Anonymous Italian Artist St Sebastian 18th century oil on canvas Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti, Genoa |
from Arrows
In the famous painting, the saint
looks steadfastly heavenward,
away from the physical indignity below,
the fascinating spectacle
of his own body
bristling with arrows;
he looks up
as if he were already adamantly elsewhere,
exerting that power of denial
the soul is famous for,
that ability to say, "None of this is real:
Nothing that happened here on earth
and who I thought I was,
and nothing that I did or that was done to me,
was ever real."
– Tony Hoagland (1998)
François-Guillaume Ménageot Martyrdom of St Sebastian ca. 1780 oil on canvas Haggerty Museum, Marquette University, Milwaukee |
Antonio Palomino St Sebastian before 1726 oil on canvas Musée Thomas-Henry, Cherbourg |
attributed to Antonio Bellucci St Sebastian ca. 1700 oil on canvas Koper Regional Museum, Slovenia |
Giacinto Diana Martyrdom of St Sebastian ca. 1780 oil on canvas Indianapolis Museum of Art |
Pierre Subleyras Crucifixion of St Peter ca. 1740 oil on canvas (modello) Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh |
Pierre Subleyras Crucifixion of St Peter ca. 1740 oil on canvas Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig |
Pompeo Batoni after Guido Reni Salome with the Head of John the Baptist ca. 1740-62 oil on canvas National Trust, Stourhead Wiltshire |
Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole Salome with the Head of John the Baptist ca. 1700 oil on copper Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
Jacques-Louis David Death of Socrates 1787 oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |