Saturday, August 6, 2011

The smooth shaved adolescent or post adolescent of St. Sebastian in the XVth and XVIth Centuries was slowly replaced by a matured male form as noted above, a man that appeared to be well into his twenties or thirties with a commensurate muscular development. Along with the developed physique, the martyr-saint also ages, facially. No longer do we find a soft, pink cheeked, doe-eyed turned skyward, tulip mouth, effete, but a St. Sebastian whose face assumes real character, not a formulated, pretty ideal. Suddenly in the XVIIth Century, the martyr-saint sprouts a beard. In addition to those noted above, Ludovico Pozzoserrato (1593) (See: Figure 204), and Michele Desubleo (c. 1650) (See: Figure 205), also provide the martyr-saint with facial hair. This development irrevocably moves St. Sebastian from the ranks of the adolescent or post adolescent, Apollonian ideal of the XVth and XVIth Centuries and into an age group that seems more appropriate for the historical figure.


No comments:

Post a Comment