The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

In the Gospel of John, Thomas was not with the other disciples when the risen Christ first came to them, and he refused to believe until he could touch the wounds. Eight days later Christ appeared again and told him to do it. That is the moment shown here, Thomas kneeling as he reaches toward the wound in Christ's side.

Paolo Morando painted the canvas around 1520 for the convent of Santa Chiara in Verona. He wrapped Christ in white, and traces survive of the gilded almond-shaped glory that once surrounded him. Then he used the background to carry the story on. In an open landscape Christ rises into the sky, the Ascension, which the Acts of the Apostles places after 40 days among his followers. Inside a ruined apse the Holy Spirit comes down on the apostles at Pentecost, ten days after that.