Saint Sebastian

"Many people have often wondered why St. Sebastian has always had a special attraction, for gay men in particular. It's the pictures, stupid! I mean, where did you think Calvin Klein got his ideas for all those underwear ads, Divine Inspiration?" -- Bob Racozky, The Gay Book of Saints

In a way, Racozky is right. The figure of Sebastian moved very early from being an icon in the Catholic church to being an icon for men whose ultimate ideals included a form of penetration that was simultaneously ecstasy and deathly pain; i.e. a gay icon.



Version by Lorenzo Costa, 1491



Louis Bourdechon, 1509



Version by "Il Sodoma," 1525



Ludovico Carracci, San Sebastiano, 1599, Gravina (Bari), Fondazione Pomarici-Santomasi.



Still from Derek Jarman's film Sébastiene (1976)