Today is the joint feast of the martyrs St Fabian and St Sebastian.
Wikipedia has an account of his legend and his cult and patronage, as well as his iconography and its varied interpretations down to the present in Saint Sebastian
I have posted in past years in particular about the iconography of St Sebastian, which is one that in its established form in later medieval and Renaissance art is very distinctine and recognisable indeed.
My post from 2016, using examples posted by John Dillon on the Medieval Religion discussion group site, illustrates this process very well and it can be seen at St Sebastian
Last year I added to this fine collection a link to an article on the New Liturgical Movement about a Florentine tryptophan from the late fourteenth century. That, with the link, can be seen at St Sebastian
This year I can add another St Sebastian triptych, or at least what remains of it, scattered across two continents and a number of galleries, which is always a thing to be deeply regretted, and which date from 1497-99. It is the work of Josse Lieferinxe
He was an artist from Hainault who then worked in Provence. The commission was for a confraternity based in a now destroyed church in Marseille. Formerly known only as the Master of St Sebastian he has now recovered something of his identity due to academic research.
The triptych is discussed in considerable detail in an informative article that can be accessed at Preventative Medicine: Josse Lieferinxe’s Retable Altar of St. Sebastian as a Defense Against Plague in 15th Century Provence - Persée
One of the panels, depicting St Sebastian interceding for the victims of plague, can be seen at Josse Lieferinxe - Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken - Walters
St Sebastian pray for us
St Fabian pray for us
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