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
Jacopo Pesaro being presented by Pope Alexander VI to Saint Peter off his helmet, which sits beside the dais. Alexander had contributed 13 galleys to the mainly Venetian war effort, the Venetian fleet being commanded by Benedetto Pesaro, Jacopo's cousin. Between Pesaro's head and Peter war-galleys can be seen in action, and to the right of Alexander more sea, ending at the town of Lefkada, or perhaps one on Paphos. Apart from these specifics, the composition adapts the usual Venetian formula for an ex-voto of the donor being presented to the Virgin Mary by their patron saint, especially as developed by Giovanni Bellini, in whose studio Titian spent some time. The