' Saint Sebastian ' Gerrit van Honthorst (Dutch 1592-1656) Oil on canvas, circa 1623. National Gallery, London.

Sebastian was a Roman centurion , who was discovered to be a Christian and was sentenced to death by the Emperor Diocletian . He was bound to a stake and shot with arrows . He was left for dead , although the arrows had not killed him and he was eventually stoned to death.

Honthorst was one of the first artists to portray Saint Sebastian as a half-length figure , slumped forward in a seated position. The pose was subsequently adopted by other followers of Caravaggio in Utrecht , including Jan van Biljert and Hendrik ter Brugghen in the mid 1620s. This picture was probably painted shortly after Honthorst's return to Utrecht in 1620.