The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, with three archers

Anonymous, Italian, Florentine, 15th century

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This intriguing engraving, known only through this impression, has been associated with the Florentine school, in part due to its technique, midway between the fine and broad manners, and in part because its treatment of the subject recalls a painting by the Florentine artist Antonio Pollaiuolo. The words engraved on either side of the saint indicate that the print served a specific purpose: since Saint Sebastian's torments were associated with the arrows of pestilence, carrying his image with its incised prayer was intended to ward off plague.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.

Metropolitan Museum of Art