Standing man representing a statue
This serene figure is believed to have been part of an elaborate composite relief of the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, now in Linz, Austria; some of the original elements have long been dispersed. Ivory suited the style of the anonymous mid-seventeenth-century Austrian sculptor, who took great delight in portraying extreme corporeality, even in this personal take on the famed Roman marble called the Farnese Hercules. The sagging musculature of the idol behind the arrow-pierced figure of Saint Sebastian is emblematic of the decline of pagan religion.
Artwork Details
- Title: Standing man representing a statue
- Artist: Attributed to Master of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian (Austrian)
- Date: 1657
- Culture: Austrian
- Medium: Ivory
- Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 8 1/16 × 3 1/4 × 7/8 in. (20.5 × 8.3 × 2.2 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture-Miniature
- Credit Line: Purchase, Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation, Alexis Gregory and Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Gifts, 2004
- Object Number: 2004.127
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Master of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian
probably mid-17th century
Master of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian
ca. 1670
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt
ca. 1770–83
Balthasar Griessmann
second half 17th century
Balthasar Ferdinand Moll
ca. 1739–40
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