Saints Christopher and Sebastian
Historical Context
Saints Christopher and Sebastian by the Master of the Habsburgs, in the Bavarian State Painting Collections, pairs two of the most popular protective saints of the late medieval period. Christopher protected travelers from sudden death, Sebastian protected against plague — together they covered the two most feared forms of unexpected mortality in an era before modern medicine. The anonymous Master of the Habsburgs, named for paintings associated with the imperial family's collecting, worked in the Austrian-Bavarian sphere in a style of careful Flemish-influenced devotional painting suited to the demands of court and church patronage alike.
Technical Analysis
The two saints are juxtaposed in a two-panel or single unified composition. Christopher as giant figure with staff and the Christ child on his shoulder contrasts with Sebastian's more slender, arrow-pierced figure. The master renders both figures with Flemish-influenced attention to attribute detail and physiognomic character.
