1971.81 Durer, St. Sebastian at the Column


GENERAL DESCRIPTION  
Sebastian, the patron saint of archers, athletes, and soldiers, was a prominent Roman soldier until he was discovered to be Christian. Emperor Diocletian subsequently sentenced him to death by arrow, and after that failed to kill him he was finally stoned to death. Sebastian is usually portrayed as he is in Albrecht Dürer's engraving—tied to a column wearing only a loincloth and pierced by numerous arrows. He stands in a contrapposto pose, where his weight is placed on one foot and the body naturally twists. It was a device used by classical sculptors to emphasize the balance and perfection of the human body and was revived in the Renaissance. 

Excerpt from
Laura Sevelis, DMA label copy (1971.81) for Saints and Monsters: Prints by Albrecht Dürer, March 2015

NOTES
Made a note in TMS that the display date used on the wall label in "Saints and Monsters" was 1499-1500, not c. 1498- c. 1499. I did not change the date in the TMS record because it had been updated in April 2015, implying that the record was revised after the "Saints and Monsters" labels were completed. 

I used Carl Wuellner's label from 2003 as the Individual CC for Saint Sebastian.

Add Saint Sebastian as depicted individual.

Added Saints and Monsters label copy to TMS as a text entry.

Changed the object name from Print to Engraving. Changed the medium from Engraving to ink on paper.

Add information to existing TMS label copy by Wuellner. The texts were written for "With Black Lines Only: Engravings and Woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer" (December 21, 2003- March 28, 2004).

Deleted the text in the exhibition history field for "With Black Lines Only" because it was duplicated by an exhibition record already entered in TMS and related to this object. 

DMA Friends Activity- puzzle brochures by Danielle Shulz and Tanya Miller for the Saints and Monsters exhibition- Fall 2015
HOW TO FIND THIS?

Added the following exhibition as to the exhibition history text field (because it was not a DMA exhibition). This exhibition was on a typescript page along with four other exhibitions and eleven Dürer object numbers. The other four exhibitions already have TMS records and are linked to the correct objects. 
1982: "Depictions of the Advent in Early European Art," Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, TX, December 12, 1982- February 6, 1983

Created a constituent record in TMS for Saint Sebastian as the depicted individual.

Provenance (not public)
n.d.: Colonel Henry Van den Bergh, London [1]
n.d.: his widow
Until 1971: Calvin J. Holmes, Dallas, TX, purchased from the above
From 1971: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, bequest from the above [2]
[1] The original registration card for this object in the DMA Collections Records Object File includes this line of provenance as the owner prior to Holmes acquiring the print for the Museum. The time period and transaction are not specified.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography 
Depicted Location: Rome (Italy): TGN: 7000874
Place of origin: Nuremberg (Germany): TGN: 7004334

Process/materials

Historical periods

Individuals
Diocletian, Emperor of Rome (Roman emperor, 245-316 CE)

Subject terms
man
arrows
saint
martyr
landscape
death
grasses
column
loincloth
soldier
stones
plague
Christianity
monogram

RELATED OBJECTS 

PROVENANCE 


AUDIO ASSETS 
Josh Rose, Saints and Monsters: Prints by Albrecht Durer, gallery talk, June 17, 2015.
248141244: UMO
Connection made by confirming exhibition in TMS and Piction ID correct.

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES 
  • Inside Albrecht Dürer's Studio- Engraving~Watch this demonstration and explanation of the engraving process created by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute for the exhibition, The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer (November 14, 2010- March 13, 2011).

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS
  • Along with St. Roch (who survived disease and cared for infirmed Romans during the Medieval period), St. Sebastian was a particularly popular Christian saint in the late 15th century as his martyrdom was associated with protection against the bubonic plague, which was a serious concern for Europeans at the time.

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1971.81

Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
 
Sebastian, the patron saint of archers, athletes, and soldiers, was a prominent Roman soldier until he was discovered to be Christian. Emperor Diocletian subsequently sentenced him to death by arrow, and after that failed to kill him he was finally stoned to death. Sebastian is usually portrayed as he is in Albrecht Dürer's engraving—tied to a column wearing only a loincloth and pierced by numerous arrows. He stands in a contrapposto pose, where his weight is placed on one foot and the body naturally twists. It was a device used by classical sculptors to emphasize the balance and perfection of the human body and was revived in the Renaissance. 

Excerpt from
Laura Sevelis, DMA label copy (1971.81) for Saints and Monsters: Prints by Albrecht Dürer, March 2015

Fun Facts
  • Along with St. Roch (who survived disease and cared for infirmed Romans during the Medieval period), St. Sebastian was a particularly popular Christian saint in the late 15th century as his martyrdom was associated with protection against the bubonic plague, which was a serious concern for Europeans at the time.

Archival Resources

Web Resources
 
  • Inside Albrecht Dürer's Studio- Engraving~Watch this demonstration and explanation of the engraving process created by the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute for the exhibition, The Strange World of Albrecht Dürer (November 14, 2010- March 13, 2011).

Notes
Made a note in TMS that the display date used on the wall label in "Saints and Monsters" was 1499-1500, not c. 1498- c. 1499. I did not change the date in the TMS record because it had been updated in April 2015, implying that the record was revised after the "Saints and Monsters" labels were completed. 

I used Carl Wuellner's label from 2003 as the Individual CC for Saint Sebastian.

Add Saint Sebastian as depicted individual.

Added Saints and Monsters label copy to TMS as a text entry.

Changed the object name from Print to Engraving. Changed the medium from Engraving to ink on paper.

Add information to existing TMS label copy by Wuellner. The texts were written for "With Black Lines Only: Engravings and Woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer" (December 21, 2003- March 28, 2004).

Deleted the text in the exhibition history field for "With Black Lines Only" because it was duplicated by an exhibition record already entered in TMS and related to this object. 

DMA Friends Activity- puzzle brochures by Danielle Shulz and Tanya Miller for the Saints and Monsters exhibition- Fall 2015
HOW TO FIND THIS?

Added the following exhibition as to the exhibition history text field (because it was not a DMA exhibition). This exhibition was on a typescript page along with four other exhibitions and eleven Dürer object numbers. The other four exhibitions already have TMS records and are linked to the correct objects. 
1982: "Depictions of the Advent in Early European Art," Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, TX, December 12, 1982- February 6, 1983

Created a constituent record in TMS for Saint Sebastian as the depicted individual.

Provenance (not public)
n.d.: Colonel Henry Van den Bergh, London [1]
n.d.: his widow
Until 1971: Calvin J. Holmes, Dallas, TX, purchased from the above
From 1971: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, bequest from the above [2]
[1] The original registration card for this object in the DMA Collections Records Object File includes this line of provenance as the owner prior to Holmes acquiring the print for the Museum. The time period and transaction are not specified.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cultures

Geography 
Depicted Location: Rome (Italy): TGN: 7000874
Place of origin: Nuremberg (Germany): TGN: 7004334

Process/materials

Historical periods

Individuals
Diocletian, Emperor of Rome (Roman emperor, 245-316 CE)

Subject terms
man
arrows
saint
martyr
landscape
death
grasses
column
loincloth
soldier
stones
plague
Christianity
monogram

RELATED OBJECTS 

PROVENANCE 


AUDIO ASSETS 
Josh Rose, Saints and Monsters: Prints by Albrecht Durer, gallery talk, June 17, 2015.
248141244: UMO
Connection made by confirming exhibition in TMS and Piction ID correct.

VIDEO ASSETS

rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1971.81
tags
#draft
#completed
loincloths (main garments): AAT: 300209923
%Archived
men: AAT: 300025928
landscapes (representations): AAT: 300015636
@Schiller
#routed
*European Art
Christianity: AAT: 300073711
contrapposto: AAT: 300067391
columns (architectural components): AAT: 300001571
soldiers: AAT: 300185678
Rome (Italy): TGN: 7000874
deaths: AAT: 300151836
arrows: AAT: 300036976
stone: AAT: 300011176
paper (fiber product): AAT: 300014109
monograms: AAT: 300010038
grasses (plants): AAT: 300132397
Nuremberg (Germany): TGN: 7004334
ink: AAT: 300015012
martyrs: AAT: 300188714
saints: AAT: 300150555
Durer_Albrecht: ULAN: 500115493
engravings (prints): AAT: 300041340
engraving (printing process): AAT: 300053225
248141244: UMO
Diocletian_Emperor of Rome (245-316 CE): ULAN: 500115704
plagues: AAT: 300379833
source file
object_notes_2_c-0136.xml.nores