The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

Caravaggio is known for his depictions of famous biblical passages with a remarkable attention for detail. He used common people to represent mythical characters which just added to the incredible realism of the artworks he made. This was particularly effective in a canvas he painted between 1601 and 1602. The Incredulity of St. Thomas, like many other Caravaggio paintings, is lit theatrically, almost artificially, which adds drama to the scene making it so much more captivating. You can see just how important the lighting is when looking at the man's forehead and how it accentuates detail. The composition is also masterfully crafted. The bodies of the man form an arc and at the center of it there's a diamond created with the man's heads. What's interesting here is that the lines and the overall composition don't lead to the main subject of this painting. They lead to the face of St. Thomas right in the center of the frame. The main subject could arguably be St. Thomas's finger which is entering Jesus through one of his wound but the way Caravaggio makes us look at it is by leading our eye to St. Thomas's face. Its expression then makes us look at his finger. It's as if Caravaggio wanted us to take a detour to St. Thomas's astonishment instead of focusing right away on the shocking penetration. The light brings it to attention as it shows the folds in Christ's skin and you can see just how deep St. Thomas is going. To people who are not too familiar with Christian mythology, this might be an extremely weird scene though it's entirely biblical. This is a passage critiquing skepticism from the Gospel of John chapter 20 verses 24 to 29. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, 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. A week later his disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here. See my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God. Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. St. Thomas was told that Jesus resurrected but he said he wouldn't believe it as long as he didn't see it with his own eyes. He is in some way rejecting faith, which in Hebrews 11.1 is defined as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, or in other words, belief without evidence. It's only when he can actually touch the resurrected body of Jesus that he can believe in it, which leads to the conclusion of this whole story. Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. This story, and therefore the painting illustrating this story, is about promoting faith. It's trying to justify the belief in something you can't prove nor disprove. Though today, we perceive belief without evidence to be irrational, here it's thought to be virtuous. We'd like to thank our supporters on Patreon. If you'd like to become a patron, check us out on patreon.com forward slash the canvas