vinicons

Alexander Kosolapov St. Sebastian

Maurice Denis Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian

Today is the feast of Saint Sebastian, the catholic saint who became an icon of gay art.

According to the legend, Sebastian was born in the year 256 in France, which was then part of the Roman Empire. As a brave young warrior, he became part of the Imperial Guard. A christian himself, he helped other christians escape from torture and execution, but his fellow Roman soldiers denounced him to the authorities. Sentenced to death, he was tied to a tree and arrows were shot at him, but he had divine protection and could not die. He was later executed by stoning.

The story of Sebastian was very popular during the Renaissance, and many artists of the time saw him as the perfect excuse to paint half nude men in erotic poses. For centuries, artists have created their own versions of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian and today he is one of the most recognizable characters in queer art. 

He is a homoerotic symbol of passion repressed, the arrows representing the pain of a love forbidden and thus kept in secret.