Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene Sebastian as a mature if not elderly man. But almost invariably artists continued to show the saint as a young man, rather sensuously depicted, and with as little clothing as in the earlier paintings. Irene, the widow of a mature martyr in her legend, also tends to be painted as young and beautiful. The subject, especially in the depictions where Sebastian has been got clear of his post or tree, has clear similarities to two other scenes from secular Italian epic romances: Angelica and Medoro from "Orlando Furioso" by Ludovico Ariosto (1516) and Erminia and Tancredi from "Gerusalemme liberata" by
Bay of Arrows islands. Columbus described in his log the land as being exceedingly beautiful with lush forests and deep waters. He painted a picture of the natives as both a strong and meek people. They all walked around naked without any shame and ranged from dark tan to white in color. Columbus described each group he met as being the handsomest he has found. The Bay of Arrows is the inlet in the Samaná Peninsula where in his first voyage to the Americas the admiral had the last of these encounters with the natives, which differently from the previous ones, turned sour.