# Saint Sebastian

**Perugino** (Italian, c. 1450/55–1523)  
c. 1493  
metalpoint  
Sheet: 25.6 x 14.6 cm (10 1/16 x 5 3/4 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.411. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1958.411).

## About this work

The Florentine painter Perugino made drawings to record figural types and poses that could be repeated throughout his finished paintings. He used the elegant, graceful figure seen here, with its soft athletic body and upwardly turned gaze, in at least two paintings of the 3rd-century martyr Saint Sebastian (the related paintings are now in the collection of the Galleria degli Uffizi, and the Louvre). Sebastian was shot with arrows after being exposed as a Christian convert; he was particularly revered during the Renaissance as a protector against illness such as the plague. Portrayal of the saint required Perugino to express his knowledge of human anatomy, while evoking the gentle s-curve associated with classical sculpture. Drawn with metalpoint, a typical drawing medium in the 1400s, the reinforced lines along the contour of the figure indicate that it was probably used by the artist or by one of his many studio assistants to transfer the design to another sheet.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Perugino drew this in about 1493, aged about 38. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### [Perugino](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/perugino)

Italian, c. 1450/55–1523

Pietro Vannucci took the name Perugino from Perugia, the chief city of his native Umbria, and trained in Florence, probably alongside Leonardo in Verrocchio’s studio. In the early 1480s he was among the painters of the Sistine Chapel walls, where his Delivery of the Keys sets calm figures before a vast, ordered piazza. His serene, symmetrical style and soft landscapes made him one of the most sought-after painters in Italy, and the young Raphael learned much from him.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Drawing
- Culture: Italy
- The artist was about 38
- Real size: about 10 × 5½ in (26 × 15 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 15th century
- Movement: [Renaissance](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/renaissance)
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/629.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/629/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/saint-sebastian-cma-135407).