Object data
oak with traces of polychromy
height 73 cm × width 24.5 cm × depth 17.5 cm
anonymous
St Sebastian
Eastern Netherlands, c. 1500 - c. 1525
Inscriptions
- label, on the reverse, typewritten on blue paper: B32
Technical notes
Carved and originally polychromed. Dispersed across Sebastian’s body are several holes in which arrows were originally inserted. The polygonal base has been worked with Tremolierung. A hole (diam. 1.5 cm) for securing purposes has been drilled in the base between Sebastian’s two feet. The reverse has been hollowed out.
Condition
After the removal of the polychromy with a caustic, the sculpture was possibly reworked in areas, including the face. The back of the tree has a crack. The arrows that once pierced Sebastian’s body are missing, as are the fingers of his right hand, a section of his hair and segments of the tree branches to which he is tied. Several of the arrow holes have been filled. The imprint of a square nail that has been removed can be seen on the right foot. Traces of red paint can be observed in and under the arrow holes.
Provenance
…; from the dealer M. de Maan, The Hague, fl. 50, to the museum, 1897; on loan to the Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht, 1977-95
Object number: BK-NM-11076
Copyright: Public domain
Entry
St Sebastian is tied to a tree. His body was originally pierced by numerous arrows, as evident from the blunted stubs still emerging from holes in several places. The entire carving was originally polychromed, but this layer was later removed. Traces of red paint are still discernible both in and directly under his wounds. The figure likely originates from the eastern Netherlands. Regional parallels include details such as Sebastian’s curly head of hair, which fans out around the lower face and neck, his sinewy body and the unnatural manner in which the end of his loincloth hangs to one side. Additionally, sculpture produced in this part of the Low Countries, especially Guelders and the Lower Rhine region, often have comparable polygonal bases accentuated with Tremolierung (wiggle-work).1 Leeuwenberg, who situated this work in the Northern Netherlands without further elucidation,2 cited a similarity to a Sebastian from the former Hijner Collection.3 An agreement between the two can indeed be observed in Sebastian’s fairly stiff pose and his slender body type. Regarding the physiognomic type, the example in the former Hijner Collection strongly recalls works from Upper Guelders in the Meuse-Rhine area associated with the Master(s) of Elsloo.4 By contrast, the sharply carved face and strands of hair of the Amsterdam Sebastian, are more reminiscent of the Lower Rhenish sculptor Arnt van Tricht (active c. 1530-d. 1570, cf. BK-NM-11155).
Bieke van der Mark, 2024
Literature
J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 81, with earlier literature
Citation
B. van der Mark, 2024, 'anonymous, St Sebastian, Eastern Netherlands, c. 1500 - c. 1525', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20035572
(accessed 9 December 2025 05:31:12).