ITALIAN, LATE 16TH / EARLY 17TH CENTURY

This lovely relief is emblematic of the high-quality and original sculpture being produced in Venice, and Northern Italy in general, in the 16th and early 17th century. It clearly owes a debt to Gimmaria Mosca, even though the details are softer than some of the best-preserved Mosca reliefs, such as the many figures in the Miracle of the Goblet, in the Capella del Santo, Sant’Antonio, Padua (A. Markham Schulz, The History of Venetian Renaissance Sculpture, ca. 1400-1530, 2017, London, vol. II, nos. 688-89). St. Sebastian’s compact and slightly truncated body, and the rippling and dense musculature of his torso, also all relate to Mosca’s figure of Philoctetes, in the Museo di Palazzo Ducale, Mantua (Ibid., no. 696). But St. Sebastian’s elegant contortions and forward projection, as well as the loose, tousled hair and swirling drapery show some Baroque flair and probably indicate a later 16th or early 17th century date.