Saint Sebastian 1729 - 1742

Curator: Here we have A. Claude Philippe de Thubières, comte de Caylus's "Saint Sebastian," a print housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's a delicate rendering, almost ethereal. The scene feels intimate despite the number of figures. What material was employed to create this? Curator: It's an etching. Caylus was quite interested in printmaking and its potential for disseminating images and ideas within a growing public sphere. Editor: Etching allowed for detailed line work and mass production. It democratized access to art, shifting artistic control from the elite to the burgeoning middle class. Curator: Exactly. The image of Saint Sebastian, a figure often associated with plague and resilience, also speaks to the period’s anxieties and spiritual concerns. Editor: Anxieties that, through the printmaking process, were brought directly into people's homes. A very tactile experience of faith, you might say.