A young man stands bound to a tree, his head tilted back and his eyes turned upward, as arrows pierce his bare torso and thigh. His arms are tied behind the trunk, and a white cloth is wrapped loosely around his hips, stained with blood where an arrow has struck. Blood trickles from several wounds, most visibly from the arrow lodged in his side and another in his thigh, with a single drop hanging from one shaft.

The figure’s expression is one of suffering and resignation, his parted lips and upward gaze suggesting both pain and a sense of spiritual transcendence. The tree behind him rises thick and gnarled, its roots spreading across the ground and its foliage casting deep shadows over his form. To the left at the base of the tree, a woven quiver lies on the ground, its arrows scattered, and a bow rests beside it, hinting at the violence just enacted.

The landscape opens to the right, revealing distant hills, a patch of blue sky streaked with clouds, and a golden light on the horizon, contrasting with the somber greens and browns of the foreground. Rubens uses strong contrasts of light and shadow to model the saint’s muscular body, with luminous flesh tones set against the dark tree and foliage. The brushwork is smooth and meticulous, especially in the rendering of skin, hair, and the folds of the white cloth, while the leaves and bark are painted with broader, textured strokes.

The composition centers the figure vertically, his body forming a sinuous line that echoes the curves of the tree and the landscape beyond. Every detail, from the taut ropes to the delicate veins in the saint’s feet, is rendered with careful attention, heightening the sense of physical presence and vulnerability.