St. Sebastian.

Simone Cantarini or Simone da Pesaro (1612-48), called 'il Pesarese' after his place of birth, was an important Italian painter and printmaker of the Baroque period. He worked in the studio of the great Bolognese artist Guido Reni in the 1630s, and according to some accounts, their relationship ended explosively. He died after a difficult period in Mantua; since it took him too long to finish the portrait of Carlo II Gonzaga of Nevers, commissioned by the Grand Duke, he was relieved of his duties. He was evidently critical of the Gonzaga collection and this created a further scandal; it is suspected that he was poisoned by a jealous rival artist.

His prints were praised in his lifetime for their extraordinary delicacy and vibrant and luminous quality. Cantarini was able to imbue his plates with a new spirit, treating them in the same way as a piece of paper by using nervous and flickering signs. This gave his creations a modern movement and vibe. His skill as a designer/draughtsman influenced his work as an engraver by allowing him to arrive at a graphic simplification of great beauty and effectiveness. Cantarini is known to have followed a set procedure in the design and creation of his prints: he would start with a general sketch of the composition in pen or pencil. After having thus studied the details of the composition one by one, he traced the design in red stone, with the details defined. The design was then replicated in pen in its final dimensions using a grid and then transferred on a copper plate and etched.

This etching depicts St Sebastian, tied to a tree and pierced by several arrows, the instruments of his martyrdom. The beautiful saint shows no sense of pain, however, and instead gazes upwards charmingly, slightly dreamily, towards the angel who is about to crown him with a wreath.

See:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Cantarini

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art       June 2017