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Cambiaso, Luca
Martyrdom of St. Sebastian
1550-1569

Luca Cambiaso was the leading Genoese painter of the third quarter of the sixteenth century, though he is better known today for his skills as a draftsman. He received his early training from his father and later came under the influence of Perino del Vaga and Il Pordenone, both of whom worked for a time in Genoa. St. Sebastian, martyred with arrows for refusing to renounce his Christian faith, was frequently depicted during the Renaissance. The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian was a popular subject not only for its dramatic and emotional possibilities, but also because his invocation was thought to be a defence against the plague. Cambiaso’s drawings are characterized by a fluidity of line and a looseness of handling. The architectural setting of this drawing suggests it may have been intended as a preparatory study for the decoration of the right-hand wall of a chapel.

 
Cambiaso, Luca
Born Genoa, 1527 - Died Madrid, 1585
Martyrdom of St. Sebastian
1550-1569
pen and brown ink and wash, on two attached sheets of paper
height / width: 74.50 x 43.00 cm; 29.33 x 16.92 in.
Gift of Bayside Lakeshore Properties Ltd., Montreal, 1998
41-018.19

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