Johann Michael Rottmayr
St. Irene Nursing St. Sebastian
1695
Cathedral of St. Stephen, Passau, Germany
As is so often the case, the painting collapses different episodes into one image. The arrival of angels with the palm and crown of martyrdom refers to Sebastian's actual death, which occurred four days later. Irene is said to have "sent for" Sebastian, whom she nursed in her home, but most likely she is the one in this picture who is holding his body and the jug at the right is a metonymy for the care she gave him.
The German label in the church refers to "Heilige" Irene and "Heilige" Sebastian. The word can mean either "Saint" or "holy." The Acta Sanctorum (April vol. 1, 248-50) has a vita describing a Saint Irene who was martyred at Aquileia in 304, coincidentally by a shot from a soldier's bow. But that saint, a young virgin, is not the "holy widow" of the Sebastian story, which is set in Rome.
View this image in full resolution.
Read more about St. Sebastian.
Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.