This is an oil on canvass work that measures 42 inches x 57 inches. The artist is Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571 - 1610). Often referred to as simply Caravaggio, he was an Italian painter active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily from the early 1590s to 1610.
From Das Wiki: "His paintings combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a formative influence on Baroque painting."
But Caravaggio was a troubled man who displayed odd and violent behavior. He was once charged with murder, but fled the province to avoid prosecution. Caravaggio died under mysterious circumstances in 1610.
'Doubting Thomas' is on display at Sanssouci Picture Gallery in Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany. Sanssouci palace was built in 1755–1764 during the reign of Frederick II of Prussia. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles.
Odd, but the incredulous encounter Thomas had with the Risen Christ is only recorded in the Gospel of John 20:24-31.
"Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That You May Believe
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."
According to Christian tradition, Saint Thomas travelled the Silk Road to India to preach the Gospel. He arrived in 50 AD, and founded seven churches along the Indian south western coast. The Christians there today identify themselves as 'St. Thomas Christians.'
A dedicated, itenerant preacher of the Gospel, Thomas was killed in 72 AD at St.Thomas Mount near the city of Madrasah in the north eastern corner of the sub-continent.
