Location on South Colonnade




79. St. Sebastian
The 140 Saints of the Colonnade


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Charlemagne Wing

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Saints 1-21
Saints 22-44
Saints 45-70
Saints 71-96
Saints 97-119
Saints 120-140

St Sebastian Altar

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

St. Sebastian - Martyr
Born - c.256
Died - c. 288 in Rome

Feastday - 20 January

Statue created -  c.1702-1703
Work began on the statue 2 June 1702, and it was delivered 2 August 1703.  A down payment of 10 scudi and the balance of 70 scudi was paid in 1703.

Sculptor - Michele Maglia
This work is typical of the artist's maturity when his approach became more classical, replacing the exuberant, lively Baroque style of his youth.

Height - 3.1 m. (10ft 4in) travertine
The saint has his right wrist tied to the tree trunk. His loins are girded by a cloth, and his body is pierced with arrows.  At his feet is a helmet, and in his left hand is the remains of a palm of martyrdom. The right forearm has been remade twice; in the 1791-94 and the 1831-33 restorations.

The image of St Sebastian pierced by arrows was popular during the renaissance, but the details of his death are considered legendary.  He was from Milan, migrated to Rome and martyred there.  The feastday is that of his burial in the catacombs that bear his name.

 

Saints on South Colonnade
Charlemagne Wing

79. Sebastian, 78. Fabian

After 2014 Restoration

Saints on South Colonnade
Charlemagne Wing

81. to 71.

79. Sebastian - Third from Left

 

Sources:
The Book of Saints, ©2002 Edited by Dom Basil Watkins, OSB
Le Statue Berniniani del Colonnato di San Pietro by Valentino Martinelli ©1987 by de Luca Editore

 

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