''Christ and St. Thomas'' (1467–1483) is a bronze statue by

Andrea del Verrocchio Andrea del Verrocchio (, , ; – 1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was a sculptor, Italian painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence. He apparently became known as ''Verrocchio'' after the ...

made for one of the 14 niches on the exterior walls of the

Orsanmichele Orsanmichele (; "Kitchen Garden of St. Michael", from the Tuscan contraction of the Italian word ''orto'') is a church in the Italian city of Florence. The building was constructed on the site of the kitchen garden of the monastery of San Mich ...

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, where it is now replaced by a cast and the original moved inside the building, which is now a museum. It shows the Incredulity of Thomas, frequently represented in Christian art since at least the 5th century and used to make a variety of theological points.

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...

doubted the

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

and had to feel the wounds for himself in order to be convinced ( John 20:24–29). The surrounding marble niche was designed by

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance s ...

for his '' St Louis of Toulouse'' (1413), but the statue was moved to Santa Croce when the niche was sold to the Tribunale di Mercanzia (merchant's guild), who commissioned the Verrochio work.

Style

The work was the first narrative based work to appear at Orsanmichele. In its execution Verrocchio showed sophisticated knowledge of the style and substance of classical sculpture. The figures were cast without backs (i.e., not in the round) as they were only to be viewed from the front. This had the added benefits of saving on bronze (which was roughly ten times more expensive than marble), making the work lighter and easier to fit into the niche. The interaction between the characters of Christ and St Thomas show a strong sense of movement and dialogue. Differences between the mortal and the immortal are highlighted with Christ's passive, almost regal stance and the agitated and nervous disposition of the doubting St Thomas. The realism created by the artist is indicative of the period of art in which it was made, the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

Mercanzia

Part of the remit of the Merchant's guild was to be a judicial, overseeing body. As such the theme of ''Christ and St Thomas'' would have been attractive to them as it concerned proof and the presentation of reliable evidence.

References

* Hartt, Frederick and Wilkins, David G. ''History of Italian Renaissance Art.'' Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari ...

, 2006. {{coord, 43, 46, 14.63, N, 11, 15, 18.92, E, source:itwiki_region:IT_type:landmark, display=title 1483 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Florence Outdoor sculptures in Florence Sculptures by Andrea del Verrocchio Sculptures of Orsanmichele Statues in Italy Statues of apostles Statues of Jesus Thomas the Apostle