The Martyr and Distraction: Jacques Callot's Etching of St Sebastian (ca. 1630)

Free talk by art historian Marika Takanishi Knowles on Jacques Callot's unusual etching of The Martyrdom of St Sebastian.

Marika Takanishi Knowles of the University of St Andrews gives a talk exploring Jacques Callot's 17th-century etching The Martyrdom of St Sebastian, a small but striking composition that depicts the execution from a distance rather than focusing on Sebastian's pierced body. The talk looks at how Callot's work plays with ideas of distance, distraction and miniaturisation, drawing on Epicurean and Machiavellian thought, and asks what attention and distraction meant in the early seventeenth century compared with today's culture of constant stimulation. The talk is part of the Graphic Arts Group series, organised by Dr Sarah Grandin and Dr Esther Chadwick of the Courtauld. It takes place at the Courtauld's Vernon Square campus, Lecture Theatre 1, is free to attend but booking is essential.

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