The martyrdom of Saint Sebastian is one of the most enduring themes in Western religious art.The execution scene so often portrayed - with the Saint transfixed with arrows - is based on thelegend about his life and death during the reign of the Roman emperor, Diocletian. However, it isthe symbolic association of arrows with the Black Death - during the Middle Ages and during theRenaissance - which identifies Sebastian as the patron saint of plague victims. After more than fourcenturies of recurrent epidemics, the plague died out in Europe; but the image of St Sebastiancontinued to inspire artists until the end of the 19th century.
