Spanish school, late 16th century. "Saint Thomas". Oil... Lot 4

Spanish school, late 16th century. "Saint Thomas". Oil on canvas. Size: 104 x 79 cm; 126,5 x 101 cm (frame). Saint Thomas, the unbelieving apostle, has been represented half-length, with his face in profile concentrated on the reading of the Gospels that he holds with his left hand, while with his right hand he takes the instrument of his martyrdom, the point of a lance. The iconography and composition, closed and with a neutral background, follow a model that was common in late Renaissance devotional painting and can be seen in El Greco's series of the Apostles. The light falls only on the body, so that it is modelled fragment by fragment through a play of chiaroscuro, making it emerge from a dark background. The flesh tones, subtly shimmering, pulsate with a naturalistic palpitation, which also permeates the expression, the yellow tunic and the hair. The accomplished verism endows the character with psychological depth. During the Counter-Reformation, series of Apostles became quite popular, generally depicting them half-length, against a neutral background and bearing their iconographic attributes. They were, on the one hand, a derivation of the late medieval altarpieces, whose benches and streets usually depicted isolated, full- and half-length saints.