The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (Stom)

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas is an oil painting on canvas by Matthias Stom, created c. 1640-1649. It is held in the Museo del Prado, in Madrid.

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
Artist	Matthias Stom
Year	c. 1640-1649
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	125 cm × 99 cm (49 in × 39 in)
Location	Museo del Prado, Madrid

History

Another version of the subject by the same artist is in the Baron Scotti collection in Bergamo; both were produced during the artist's time on Sicily. The Prado version's composition is influenced by those of Hendrick ter Brugghen's Doubting Thomas of c. 1621–1623 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam) and Rubens's Incredulity of Saint Thomas of 1613–1615 (Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp).

The work first appeared in the written record as one of the paintings listed as saved from the 1734 fire at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid; at that time it was thought to be a copy of an original by Guercino. Another inventory of 1772, this time of the Royal Palace in Madrid, re-attributed it as an autograph work by Stom's teacher Gerard van Honthorst. This misattribution which survived until 1963, when the work was reassigned to Hendrick ter Brugghen. Arthur von Schneider first suggested Stom as the work's artist and many years later, in 1985, a catalogue finally restored this attribution.

Description

The painting depicts the moment when, according to the Gospel of John, the Apostle Thomas, who doubted that Jesus Christ had been raised from the death, had to put his hand on His wound, and finally was able to believe in the resurrection. Thomas face isn't entirely visible to the viewers, has he contemplates and puts his fingers in the wound. Two people are depicted at the left, a man, possibly another of the Apostles, and a woman, both of old age.

See also

• List of paintings by Matthias Stom