St. Sebastian, Bound to a Tree

c. 1589

Bartholomaeus Spranger

Associated Names
Bartholomaeus Spranger

Artist, Netherlandish, 1546 - 1611

The image shows a person hanging from a tree branch. The person is standing on their tiptoes, gripping the branch with one arm. They have a detailed facial expression with closed lips and wavy hair flowing around their face and shoulders. The person's body is muscular and partly exposed, wearing draped clothing. The background features a textured, cross-hatched pattern, particularly on the tree trunk. Various lines in the image create depth and shadow.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper with handwritten note

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 20 x 9.1 cm (7 7/8 x 3 9/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2012.92.152

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hollstein, no. 3, State only

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(August Laube Buch- und Kunstantiquariat, Zurich); Ruth Kainen, Washington, D.C., purchased November 8, 1979; Gift to NGA, 2012.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2013

  • Northern Mannerist Prints from the Kainen Collection, NGA, 2013 - 2014.

Bibliography

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. Vols. I-XV, XVIII, XIX. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger; no. 3, only

Inscriptions

below image, at center, mirrored: B / SPRANGERS. ANTvs / F; below image, at left, mirrored: 2

Wikidata ID

Q76555641

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