(active in Naples, 1636–1655)
Saint Sebastian,
signed and dated lower left: NICOLO LOZET SIMON/1651,
oil on canvas, 100.5 x 128 cm, framed

The Flemish painter from Liege was known by the names of Nicolò Fiammingo, Lo Zet or Lopet, and he was active in Naples between 1636 and 1655. He was strongly influenced by the baroque artists Massimo Stanzione, Bernardo Cavallino, and Mattia Preti.

Little is known about the artist’s life, but it is recorded that Nicolò Fiammingo joined Stanzione’s studio, assisting him with the Madonna of the Rosary with Saint Francis and Saint Dominic in San Lorenzo Maggiore, and in 1653, he was commissioned to paint the fresco decoration of the vault. Later works include the Martyrdom of Saint Potito for the high altar of the church San Potito in Naples, and a Saint Ursula now in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam.

The present painting depicts the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. He was killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians, where he was tied to a post and shot with arrows. In the present composition the saint is shown with dramatically raised eyes looking upwards towards heaven, this is further emphasised by the movement of the saint’s body, dominating the painting with its dark background. This painting is similar to a composition by Nicolò dating from the 1640s in the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida (see fig. 1). The striking similarity of the two paintings underlines the popularity of the subject.