From classical forms to the sensual expression of drama: considerations on "Saint Sebastian" of Il Sodoma

Abstract

This paper focuses on aspects of the production of the 16th century Italian artist Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (1477-1549), known as “Il Sodoma”. After a presentation of the painter and his artistic education, especially impacted by Leonardo's work, it is considered the relevance of the artist's production in the Tuscan School and the consecutive revitalization of painting in Central Italy. Through the analysis of the work “San Sebastian” (1525), considered a masterpiece of Sodoma, it is emphasized the way the artist builds his own poetics, combining plastic work with the vigorous classical body and the drama of a tormented spirituality.