Raffaello (1483-1520)
San Sebastiano (St. Sebastian)
c.1502–1503
Tempera and oil on wood, 45.5 x 36.4 cm
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo
Originally from Urbino and initially active in Perugino‘s workshop, Raphael worked in Siena, perhaps as a collaborator of Pinturicchio, to then establish himself definitively in Florence in the early sixteenth century. The San Sebastiano was painted when Raphael was not even twenty years old, but he stands out for his extraordinary executive finesse and for the almost miraculous ability to graduate the light, which envelops the figure in a sweet and dreamy atmosphere. The work was created for the personal devotion of a refined client; this explains why a saint like Sebastian, usually associated with popular piety, is depicted in aristocratic robes holding the arrow symbol of martyrdom in his hand, rather than naked and pierced by darts, as traditional iconography envisaged. (ACB)