St. Sebastian at the Column

St. Sebastian at the Column is a significant early engraving by the foundational German Renaissance artist, Albrecht Dürer German, 1471-1528. Executed between 1494 and 1504, this piece demonstrates Dürer’s pioneering mastery of the burin and the potential of graphic arts to rival painting. Created in black ink on ivory laid paper, the detail achieved in this early print established the artist as the preeminent printmaker in Germany and Northern Europe during the transition from the late Gothic to the Renaissance era. The ten-year span attributed to its creation highlights the careful evolution of Dürer's style and technique during a crucial period of self-definition following his foundational travels.

The subject depicts Saint Sebastian, bound naked to a column, undergoing martyrdom by arrows. This specific iconography was highly popular during the Renaissance, particularly as Sebastian was frequently invoked as a patron saint against the plague. Dürer renders the figure with an anatomical precision reflective of his studies of classical antiquity and Italian models, yet retains a northern sensibility in the handling of line and complex drapery. As one of the most important prints from this era, this work is crucial for understanding the dissemination of Renaissance ideals across Germany. This fine impression of the engraving, which exists today due to the enduring nature of such public domain artworks, resides in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.