Paolo Pagani’s St. Sebastian in Krakow

Abstract

The picture of Saint Sebastian has been ordered to the Krakow University church by professor Sebastian Piskorski, who was in charge of the construction, decoration, and furnishing of the building. The canvas had been placed in the chapel, which was made available to the public yet in 1696, while the rest of the church remained a fenced construction site for seven more years. This small interior must have made a great impression on viewers, encouraging them to financially support the works. A contemporary writer stated that the chapel began decorative works of the church in forms that had not been seen before. Its main part, the exquisite painting by Paolo Pagani, sensually showing the saint’s naked body, could evoke the viewer’s admiration, but also an impression of uniqueness and peculiarity. Thus, the term queer can be applied to this work, at least in its original sense, meaning something strange, odd or eccentric. Pagani’s painting is a good starting point for questions about the hidden meanings that were associated with the male act in the early modern environment of the clergymen and university. Repressed or subconscious erotic associations could have been connected there with religious mysticism – as indicated by Piskorski’s particularly personal attitude to the sculpture of the crucified Christ. Similar links are also present in the patronage of Jacek Łopacki, who in the middle of the 18th century refurnished St. Mary’s church.