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Altarpiece of
Saint Sebastian
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Saint Sebastian would be born in Narbonne.
He died martyrdom, on January the 20th 300,
under Diocletian. He was a soldier andcaptain of a
cohort.
As he was Christian, he supported victims of
persecutions.
The Emperor Diocletian reproached him
his lack of loyalty and his impiety, and bring him
before the courts.
For his defence, he declared that he
fulfilled his duties of soldier and that he
prayed for the empire. Diocletian having learned
this insolence, ordered his execution by his
archers. We can see him pierced with arrows.
Sebastian was also invoked against the plague after
680.
A great plague afflicted Rome on those days, but was
suddenly stopped after a solemn procession
carrying the relics of the Saint through the city of Rome.
This recent altarpiece is framing painted panels
of the XVIIth century.
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diagram of the altarpiece
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