“The Martyrdom of St Sebastian” by Benozzo Gozzoli, 1465
Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
Piazza del Duomo
San Gimignano, September 2021
“On the rear wall of the nave, beneath the Last Judgement is a fresco of the Martyrdom of St Sebastian painted by Benozzo Gozzoli in 1465. The work was commissioned by the people of San Gimignano as the result of a vow that they made to honour the saint, whose intervention was believed to have brought relief from an outbreak of plague in 1464. The painting shows the figure of Christ and the Virgin Mary in Glory, while below, St Sebastian, standing on a Classical plinth and bristling with arrows, suffers martyrdom and is crowned by angels. Benozzo Gozzoli received his training under Lorenzo Ghiberti while working on the Baptistry doors.[19] He fulfilled two other important commissions in San Gimignano. Both were at the Church of Sant' Agostino, a fresco cycle of the life of St Augustine of Hippo executed 1464-65, and another St Sebastian, showing the townsfolk sheltering beneath his cloak.” (Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta, Wikipedia)
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