Bernardo Strozzi - The Incredulity of Saint Thomas [c.1620]

Bernardo Strozzi - The Incredulity of Saint Thomas [c.1620], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles, declared that he would only believe that Christ had risen from the dead if he could touch his wounds. When Christ appeared a second time to the Apostles he spoke to Thomas: ‘Reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless but believing’ (John 20: 27). The spontaneity and confidence of Strozzi's handling of paint is very apparent in this well-preserved painting. It dates from about 1620.

Strozzi was a native of Genoa, and the leading Genoese painter of the early 17th century. He developed a distinctive bold style in handling and in colour, and painted both religious and secular works. He is best remembered for small-scale compositions, which he often repeated, but he was also an accomplished painter of full-scale narratives and portraits. The last years of his life, after 1631, were spent in Venice; in his work of this period the influence of Veronese becomes notable, while his own vigorous style influenced later Venetian art.

[Compton Verney - Oil on canvas, 89 x 98 cm]