Spanish school; 17th century. "Saint Sebastian". Carved and polychrome wood. It presents faults and restorations. Measurements: 31 x 13 x 8 cm. In this work the saint is represented tied to the tree, although the arrows stuck on his body cannot be seen. Young and athletic in appearance, as is normal in the representation of Saint Sebastian, he raises his gaze to heaven, accepting his martyrdom with serenity and faith. As is common in Spanish imagery, the scene is depicted with great drama, seeking to convey the saint`s suffering, his physical pain, to the faithful through the depiction of his posture. The polychromy seeks naturalism in the flesh tones. Born in Gaul and raised in Milan, Sebastian was a centurion of the first cohort in the time of the emperor Diocletian (late 3rd - early 4th century). Denounced because he exhorted his friends Mark and Marcellinus to remain steadfast in their faith, by order of the emperor he was tied to a post in the centre of the Field of Mars, and served as a live target for the archers who shot him. But he did not die for it. The widow Irene, who wanted to raise his body for burial, noticed that he was still breathing, bandaged his wounds and saved his life. After he was cured, he reappeared before Diocletian to reproach him for his cruelty towards the Christians. He was then scourged, beaten to death in the circus and his corpse was thrown into the Maximian sewer. Shortly afterwards, Saint Sebastian appeared to Saint Lucila in her sleep to reveal to her the location of his remains, and asked her to bury him in the catacombs.