St Sebastian
by VITTORIA, Alessandro, Marble
Vittoria carved several versions of the figure of St Sebastian. His earliest masterpiece in Venice was executed for the Montefeltro Chapel in the church of San Francesco della Vigna.
Vittoria was attracted to the sculptures of Michelangelo. The first statue in which Vittoria employed motifs from Michelangelo is the St Sebastian on the altar in San Francesco della Vigna. His model was the Dying Slave which was dispatched to France in 1544, and which he can have known only through a cast or statuette. His acquaintance with Michelangelo at this time was shallow, and this led him to modify, among many other features, the elevation of the left elbow and the position of the head. Oblivious of the weaknesses of this strange statue, Vittoria reproduced it twice as a bronze statuette.
The statue is at the right of the Montefeltro Altar.