The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (Caravaggio)
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas is a painting of the subject of the same name. It is one of the most famous paintings by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, c. 1601-1602. There are two autograph versions of Caravaggio's The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, an ecclesiastical "Trieste" version for Girolamo Mattei (Giovanni Baglione) which is now in a private collection and a secular "Potsdam" version for Vincenzo Giustiniani (Pietro Bellori) that later entered the Royal Collection of Prussia, survived the Second World War unscathed, and can now be admired in the Palais at Sanssouci, Potsdam.
It shows the episode that gave rise to the term "Doubting Thomas" which, formally known as the Incredulity of Thomas, had been frequently represented in Christian art since at least the 5th century, and used to make a variety of theological points. According to the Gospel of John, Thomas the Apostle missed one of Jesus's appearances to the Apostles after his resurrection, and said "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." A week later, Jesus appeared and told Thomas to touch him and stop doubting. Then Jesus said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."The two pictures show in a demonstrative gesture how the doubting apostle puts his finger into Christ's side wound, the latter guiding his hand. The unbeliever is depicted like a peasant, dressed in a robe torn at the shoulder and with dirt under his fingernails. The composition of the picture is such that the viewer is directly involved in the event and feels the intensity of the process.
It should also be noted that in the ecclesiastical version of the unbelieving Thomas, Christ's thigh is covered, whereas in the secular version of the painting, Christ's thigh is visible.
The light falling on Christ emphasises his physicality and at the same time suggests his divinity and significance to the viewer. Caravaggio was a master of light and shadow, and he uses this chiaroscuro to create a narrative through line in this piece. The shadows (representing doubt) sweep over St. Thomas, but as he touches Christ he is drawn into the light. As always, Caravaggio's work brings biblical scenes to life in a way that all the pageantry in the world cannot. It is an imaginative and moving approach to the subject that also underlines Caravaggio's artistic mastery. The two autograph works of Caravaggio's Unblinking Thomas differ in that Christ's thigh is uncovered in the Potsdam secular version and covered by the white cloak in the Trieste ecclesiastical version. The Potsdam painting has already been restored and is also in warmer tones, somewhat smaller in size, the folds of the red robe are missing at the bottom, the space above the heads is smaller and Christ's elbow is cut off.
Analysis The paintings features heavy chiaroscuro. Thomas's face shows surprise as Jesus holds his hand and guides it into the wound. The absence of a halo emphasizes the corporeality of the risen Christ. Behind Thomas are two other apostles, probably Saint Peter and Saint John the Evangelist. Peter is subject of other works by Caravaggio, namely the Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1601) and The Denial of Saint Peter (1610).
Caravaggio, in the horizontal dimension of the canvas, "photographs" the moment of observation in a three-quarter frame in which he arranges the four figures on a neutral and dark background. This allows the viewer's attention to be focused on Thomas' head, while the light illuminates Christ's forehead, profile and clear side, allowing us to draw attention to the anxious and unsettled posture of Thomas, who is being comforted by Christ and to whom he bends his head.
The close arrangement of the four heads and a triangle of gazes, with the focus on Thomas' gesture, allows for a further emotional concentration of the viewer's gaze, which can now focus on the centre of the "drama": the revelation of the real presence in the flesh of Jesus. Caravaggio shows the apostle Thomas who, following a certain iconographic tradition, sticks a finger into Jesus' spear wound while two other apostles observe the scene.
The facial expression of Christ can only be compared in simplicity and beauty to Leonardo's Mona Lisa. Also on the compositional level we observe the intersection of two main axes, the horizontal one consisting of the arm of Thomas and the hands of Jesus and the vertical one running from the head of the two apostles (or better between both heads) and continuing exactly at the neck of the apostle Thomas. This arrangement is rounded off by an arch formed by the two backs of Thomas and Christ: An admirable interlocking of human forms "thrown" into the foreground, with great emotional impact. The gesture of Thomas and the hand of Christ that accompanies him explode in an extraordinary "zoomata", enhanced by the light coming from the left (the light of Revelation) that illuminates the doubt, the astonishment (in the fronts of the apostles) and the reality of the living flesh of the Saviour.
Painters came to Rome, especially from the Netherlands, to study Caravaggio's work. Rembrandt, who never visited Italy, became acquainted with Caravaggio's painting style through the Utrecht Caravaggists. He can also be regarded as a representative of Caravaggism, albeit a rather late one. His turn to a radical realism, which he adhered to until the end of his life, is hardly conceivable without the example of Caravaggio and his successors. This also applies to Rembrandt's use of light. Caravaggio's paintings also left a deep impression on Peter Paul Rubens. Among the painters influenced by Caravaggio, apart from the Utrecht Caravaggists, are Orazio Gentileschi, Artemisia Gentileschi, Bartolomeo Manfredi, Georges de la Tour, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jusepe de Ribera and Johann Ulrich Loth. Caravaggio's influences are also evident in paintings by Jan Vermeer, Diego Velázquez and Francisco de Zurbarán.
This pictorial motif is probably related to Saint Matthew and the Angel (1602) and the Sacrifice of Isaac (1603), all having a model in common. The Potsdam painting belonged to Vincenzo Giustiniani before entering the Prussian royal collection, surviving the Second World War intact.