Gutachten:
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Provenienz:
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Ausstellungen:
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Ausstellung:
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Literatur:
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Provenance:
- Sotheby's auction, New York, 28.1.2010, Lot 306 (as Roman school, 17th century).
- Sotheby's auction, New York, Collection of Otto Naumann, 31.1.2018, Lot 24 (as Paul La Tarte).
- European private collection.

The painting offered here is distinctive not only in its extraordinary artistic quality, but also in its particularly exceptional iconography, rarely encountered in art history. In contrast to the image of an arrow-struck Saint Sebastian bound to a tree or post commonly depicted since the 15th century, the present work presents an intimate moment from the legend, showing Sebastian—struck by arrows—nursed back to health by the widow Irene before returning to Emperor Diocletian, who had previously sentenced him to death as a Christian.

As to the identity of the artist, scholarship has not yet come to an agreement. Clearly the influence of Caravaggio (1571–1610) is to be noted, as well as the stylistic affinity to 17th century French painting. Otto Nauman recorded the painting as a work of Paul La Tarte (d. 1636 in Pont-à-Mousson), of whose life and work little is known. His name appears in a number of old collections from the region of Pont-à-Mousson in Lorraine, where he died in 1636. While most of Lorraine's artists, such as Jacques Callot (1592–1635) and Claude Lorrain (1600–1682), spent some time in Rome, it is unclear whether La Tarte was also in Italy. The works assigned to him, such as a musical scene in the National Museum in Stockholm (A Musical Party, oil on canvas, 116 x 98.8 cm, inv. no. 6890), undoubtedly bear witness to his knowledge of the Caravaggesque style, likewise evident in this impressive painting.