Marter of Saint Sebastian

Unknown artist

The woodcut of an unknown master illustrates the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. Almost undressed, the saint accentuated by a plate bus is tied with his arms around a tree. Two men aim at him from a short distance with crossbows to pierce his muscular body with arrows and to execute his death sentence. The image crew occupies the frame almost completely. First, neither an indication of the artist nor the time of creation is integrated into the representation, later deductions bear the Dürer monogram on the top right (cf. Mende 1978, Cat. No. 553). Like Adam von Bartsch (1757-1821) before him, Heller included the woodcut under the heading “Doubtful Leaves” in his Dürer publication of 1827 and made it clear that he was not from the master of Nuremberg (cf. Heller Dürer 1827 II.769.2025).