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Notes
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Saint Fabian and Saint Sebastian, wounded by arrows, are shown together with two tiny figures wearing black cloaks with hoods and white veils. Medieval Christians prayed to both saints as protectors against the plague.Saint Fabian was pope in the third century and is shown wearing a papal tiara; he was martyred under the Roman Emperor Decius. Sebastian was tortured by the Emperor Diocletian who ordered his soldiers to tie him to a stake and shoot him with arrows. He survived, but was later beaten to death. Thick droplets of vivid red blood ooze from each of his wounds.This painting was made in Siena, and it's likely that it was commissioned by the religious group to which the little kneeling figures belonged. They may represent a group called the Bianchi -- who had an altar dedicated to the saints in the eighteenth century -- although they usually wore all white.
Title
Saints Fabian and Sebastian
Date
about 1475
Medium
Egg tempera on wood
Measurements
H 84.5 x W 54.5 cm
Accession number
NG3402
Acquisition method
Presented through The Art Fund in memory of Robert Ross, 1919
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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