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This painting is on the wall of the chancel (presbytery) of the church of San Sebastiano.
Veronese devoted special care to the decoration of the presbytery of the church, which has two long, dynamic paintings on the sides (Sts Mark and Marcellinus Being Led to Martyrdom; Martyrdom of St Sebastian) and a splendid painting on the high altar (Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints).
This scene of the martyrdom of St Sebastian is unusual in that the saint is not shown pierced with arrows but in an earlier moment of his martyrdom, when he is stripped and flogged. Having miraculously survived the torment of the arrows in the altarpiece with the saint on the column, the resolute Sebastian repeats his confession of the Christian faith. This time, he will not escape the supreme sacrifice of martyrdom. Lighting and backlighting indicate grace and salvation.
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