The representation of frontal nudity of St. Sebastian is not portrayed in painting until the very late XIX^th Century and more regularly in the XX^th and XXI^st Century. However, there are a number of earlier representations of St. Sebastian in which his nudity is implied. The artist poses the figure in such a way that his pubic region is blocked from the sight of the viewer. In other paintings the genitalia are obscured by deep shadow. In these paintings the swath or wrap that is encountered in nearly every other representation of St. Sebastian is absent--e.g., the works of: Domenico Cresti aka il Passignano (1602) (See: Figure 77); Giulio Cesare Procaccini (1610) (See: Figure 90); Bartolomeo Schedoni (1614) (See: Figure 100); and Marcantonio Bossetti (1620) (See: Figure 101) among others. The saint is bare and it is left to the viewer to supply those obscured parts via visual relict.

There are a large number of paintings that include St. Sebastian as an attending or secondary figure; paintings of which the primary subject is not St. Sebastian. In many of these compositions, the martyr-saint is tucked away behind other figures, or may be clothed as a prince--e.g., the St. Sebastian of Niccolò di Liberatore (Niccolò da Foligno aka l'Alunno)(1480+) (See: Figure 120) or of Pietro Vanucci aka Perugino (1486) (See: Figure 121)-- or occupy a tertiary role in the composition. However, there are a number of artists, particularly from the first half of the XVI^th Century, who include the martyr-saint but in such a manner as to emphasize or spotlight his nudity or semi-nudity. It was as if the artist included St. Sebastian only as a means of displaying the semi-nude male form, which is doubtless the case. Five works require attention in this case. First, the painting of the Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints (c. 1509) by Antonio Rimpatta (See: Figure 122) provides the viewer with a rather common presentation of this subject--i.e., the Madonna and Child elevated on a throne and various saints disposed below on the right and left. The assembled saints are completely clothed, covered from neck to their feet, but, the single exception is St. Sebastian. In the far right foreground he appears as a shining, youthful Apollonian ideal in stark contrast to the voluminously draped older saints. The expanse of highlighted skin, with a narrow, dark fabric coyly draped over his genitals, constantly draws the eye to that part of the painting and the exposed flesh. In addition, the rendering by Rimpatta of the martyr-saint, is strangely androgynous and is presented without arrows piercing his body. Second, Girolamo di Romano (Il Romanino) presents the Madonna and Child, but with two saints (b. 1520) (See: Figure 123). Even though the Madonna and Child occupy the center of the composition, the value range of the whole is heavily skewed to the right--i.e., the highlighted, semi-nude body the martyr-saint, here portrayed as a bit older than the beautiful, youthful Apollonian ideal. It is as though he alone deserves the spotlight. Third, Rosso Fiorentino in the painting of the Madonna and Child with Saints (1522) (See: Figure 124) finds the Madonna and Child bathed in soft light while the saints to her right--i.e., to the left of the composition--fall into shadow. To the right of the composition, St. Sebastian stands in brilliant highlight with two arrows barely visible to the right. However, the true miracle is the knotted cloth which seems to be suspended or possibly held in place by some unseen object! In addition, Rosso presents us not with an idealized Apollonian portrait of the martyr-saint, but a representation of a common young man, a portrait, genre-like. Behind the glowing figure of St. Sebastian, and to the saint's left, stands an ominously glowering mitered figure, while to the saint's right a younger St. John the Baptist glances over St. Sebastian's shoulder, questioningly. The whole is disquietingly erotic. Fourth, an erotic equal is found in the painting of St. Sebastian, St. Roch and St. Catherine (1535) by Giovanni Antonio Licinio (Il Pordenone) (See: Figure 125). St. Catherine who stands solidly behind the two male saints is fully clothed and glances heavenward. To the right is St. Roch who drops his stocking and raises his undergarment to bare his thigh as well. To the left St. Sebastian stands as a paean to Apollonian beauty and sways sideways. He appears to be glancing at St. Catherine or possibly St. Roch. The martyr-saint is depicted without arrows piercing his highlighted form, his hands bound above his head and a mere wisp of cloth flutters over his genitals. The painting of Il Pordenone is more about the body of St. Sebastian and secondarily about St. Roch who, parenthetically, appears to about to expose himself to an interested putti. Finally, the composition of the Madonna and Child with saints by Bonifacio di Pitati (b. 1550) (See: Figure 126) displays the ensemble in a landscape. The value of the composition is medium to dark with the Madonna and Child bathed in soft light in the center. To the far right, stands St. Sebastian, bound to a tree and leaning inward. He is suitably draped and stands in full light as he dominates that side of the painting. The clothed saints are secondary to the brilliantly exposed flesh of the saint-martyr which by dint of mass dominates the whole composition.