The saint is gazing at the sky, a facial expression typical of Perugino’s art. According to legend, Sebastian was an officer in the Roman imperial bodyguard in the 200s. When his Christian faith was revealed, he was tied up and pierced by arrows. He was saved, but later died as a martyr. The motif of Sebastian as an almost naked young man became popular during the Renaissance and as a saint he was invoked against sickness and pestilence.