Caravaggio
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas depicts an event from Christ's Passion. The story of "Doubting Thomas," the apostle who declared he needed to literally put his hand in Jesus' wounds to believe that He had been resurrected, is described in John 20:29, where Christ's words were: "Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and have believed."
The composition is tensely concentrated within a solid Romanesque archway formed by the outline of the four figures clustered intimately together against a dark background. There are no accessories to the scene, nor any indication of its setting. The focus is on Saint Thomas's right hand, firmly guided by Christ's, as the stolid doubter carefully prods the wound with his index finger. Tellingly, the hands of the other two apostles are concealed, although their curiosity is undisguised and scarcely less restrained than Thomas's. All three apostles are portrayed as rustic materialists without imagination or tact. They do not question Christ's identity but are fascinated by his wound as a tangible phenomenon—physical evidence of His existence as a man in their corporeal world, although no longer of it.
Christ, for His part, is understanding and indulgent of their curiosity rather than reproachful. He is portrayed without a halo or any other sign of His divinity, though His trim athletic torso contrasts with Thomas's burly form, and His physiognomy is more refined than that of the apostles. But He comes to them as a man made of flesh and blood rather than as a disembodied spirit, so His resurrection is apprehended in their literal terms, and is all the more miraculous. The message is one of faith.
Erica, thank you for suggesting this masterpiece!