Details — Click to read
Etching, 141 x 104 mm. Wurzbach undescribed, Hollstein 106.
Very fine impression printed on laid paper. Thread margins to the right. Trimmed on the platemark on the other three sides. Some very pale foxing.
Provenance: Capitaine Fachot (identified from 1796 until 1811), painter and collector (Lugt 4372).
Very rare. The British Museum, the only museum cited for this print in the Hollstein catalogue raisonné, holds two proofs.
Two other versions of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian etched by Cornelis Schut are known, one showing the dying saint supported by angels (Hollstein 104) and the other by Saint Irene (Hollstein 105). The second is close to his painting: Saint Sebastian Aided by Saint Irene and a Companion, most probably dating from 1650 (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk church in Temse, Belgium).
Our etching depicts the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian in a more classical manner: tied to a tree, his face serene, although his torso has already been pierced by an arrow. The small format of the print and its treatment bring it into line with a large group of small prints by Cornelis Schut depicting characters from the Bible or mythology, as well as numerous putti.
