Italy, circa 1620
Regnier (Niccolo Regnieri) was born in France but left for Italy as a young man. In Rome he attached himself to the followers of Caravaggio, and it was during this early period that he produced the Hermitage Saint Sebastian, a subject to which Regnier turned repeatedly. A Roman warrior, Sebastian served in the private guard of the Emperor Diocletian, who sentenced him to be shot with arrows as punishment for his Christian faith (Jacopo da Voragine, The Golden Legend, XXIII). The slender figure of the young martyr is set against a dark, almost black, ground, and whilst being very striking also contains a hint of sentimentality.
Comments