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Lot Essay
This is an unusually intimate depiction of a subject treated several times by Palma (see examples in the Sanctuario delle sette chiese, Monselice; Gemäldegalerie, Dresden and Staatsgalerie, Schleissheim). As a saint invoked to protect the faithful from the plague -- especially after the traumatic outbreak in Venice of 1576 -- Sebastian enjoyed considerable popularity. The high level of finish and the lack of any close compositional relationship to any of the other renditions of the subject by the artist indicate, that despite its small scale this was not intended as a preparatory sketch. The sweeping diagonals and the boldly delineated musculature reveal the artist's debt to Tintoretto which continued throughout Palma's career. Rinaldi dates this painting towards the end of Palma's life, circa 1610, and compares it to a painting of the same subject in the Cathedral of Málaga for which there is a preparatory drawing dated 1611.
This painting comes from the celebrated collection formed by Sir Francis Cook (1817-1901) which was installed at Doughty House, Richmond. One of the most important collections ever formed, the Cook collection included the Fra Angelico Adoration of the Magi (National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.), The Old woman cooking eggs by Velasquez (National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh) and La Schiavona by Titian (National Gallery, London). The collection began to be dispersed during the Second World War.
This painting comes from the celebrated collection formed by Sir Francis Cook (1817-1901) which was installed at Doughty House, Richmond. One of the most important collections ever formed, the Cook collection included the Fra Angelico Adoration of the Magi (National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.), The Old woman cooking eggs by Velasquez (National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh) and La Schiavona by Titian (National Gallery, London). The collection began to be dispersed during the Second World War.