Guercino, 'The Incredulity of Saint Thomas', 1621
About the work
Overview
The New Testament recounts how, after his crucifixion, Christ rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples. One of them, Thomas, was absent, and refused to believe in Christ’s resurrection without witnessing it himself. This painting shows their encounter, when Christ instructed Thomas to touch the wounds he had suffered on the Cross.
Fingers outstretched, Thomas tentatively reaches towards Christ, clutching his other hand to his chest; we can sense his nervousness. Two men lean in behind him, craning their necks to see, while Saint Peter looks on over Christ’s shoulder. Guercino has built a powerful sense of anticipation and tension through the picture’s tight crop and dramatic lighting. The figures, transfixed by Christ, watch and wait to see what will happen.
Key facts
Details
Provenance
Painted for Bartolomeo Fabri of Cento, pre-May 1621. Later in the collection of Cardinal Ginetti, Rome. By 1818 in the collection of Thomas Hope, Deepdene, when lent to the British Institution (no. 113), with a previous provenance then given as from the Aldobrandini collection, which is so far unconfirmed. Lent by H.T. Hope to the British Institution, 1844 (no. 41). Hope heirlooms sale, London, 20 July 1917 (lot 95), bought, out of the Mackerell Fund, for the Gallery. Lent to the Guercino Exhibition, Bologna, 1968, no. 47 (Catalogue of Paintings).
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Michael Levey, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1678C.C. Malvasia, Felsina pittrice: Vite de' pittori bolognesi, Bologna 1678
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1818British Institution, Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, and French Schools, London 1818
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1824C.M. Westmacott, 'A Critical and Descriptive Catalogue of the Antique Sculptors, Bassi rilievi, Statues, Vases, and Paintings, which form the Splendid Collection of Thomas Hope Esq., in his Extensive Galleries, Duchess-Street, Portland-Place', in British Galleries of Painting and Sculpture, London 1824
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1844British Institution, Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, French and Deceased English Masters (exh. cat. British Institution, June 1844), London 1844
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1846'Visits to Private Galleries No. X: The Collection of H.T. Hope Esq., Duchess-Street, Portland-Place', Art Union, VIII, 1846, pp. 97-8
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1859Catalogue of the Principal Sculptures, Antiquities and Pictures at the Deepdene, n.p. 1859
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1917Christie, Manson & Woods, Catalogue of Important Pictures by Old Masters and Family Portraits, being a Portion of the Hope Heirlooms, London, 20 July 1917
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1967R. Longhi, 'Tangenze Caravaggesche nel Guercino', in Saggi e ricerche, 1925-1928, Florence 1967, pp. 27-34
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1968D. Mahon, Il Guercino: Catalogo critico dei dipinti (exh. cat. Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio, 1 September - 18 November 1968), Bologna 1968
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1971M. Levey, The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1971
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1983M. Helston, Spanish and Later Italian Paintings, London 1983
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1986Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1986
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1987P. Thornton and D. Watkin, 'New Light on the Hope Mansion in Duchess Street', Apollo, CXXVI, 1987, pp. 162-76
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1988P. Bagni, Guercino e i suoi incisori, Rome 1988
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1988L. Salerno, I dipinti del Guercino, Rome 1988
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1991D.M. Stone, Guercino: Catalogo completo dei dipinti, Florence 1991
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1991M. Helston et al., Guercino in Britain: Paintings from British Collections (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 28 June - 31 July 1991), London 1991
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1991D. Mahon, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, Il Guercino, 1591-1666 (exh. cat. Museo civico archeologico, 6 July - 10 November 1991; Schirn Kunsthalle, 2 December 1991 - 9 February 1992; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 15 March - 17 May 1992), Bologna 1991
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1991D.M. Stone, Guercino: Master Draftsman: Works from North American Collections (exh. cat. Harvard University Art Museum, 15 February - 31 March 1991; National Gallery of Canada, 3 May - 16 June 1991; Cleveland Museum of Art, 27 August - 13 October 1991), Cambridge 1991
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1992D. Mahon, Guercino: Master Painter of the Baroque (exh. cat. Pinacoteca Nazionale, 6 July - 10 November 1991; Schirn Kunsthalle, 2 December 1991 - 9 February 1992; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 15 March - 17 May 1992), Washington 1992
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1993J.C. Bell, 'Some Seventeenth-Century Appraisals of Caravaggio's Coloring', Artibus et historiae, XIV/27, 1993, pp. 103-29
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1993R. White and J. Pilc, 'Analyses of Paint Media', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XIV, 1993, pp. 86-94
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2004D. Mahon et al., Guercino: Poesia e sentimento nella pittura del'600 (exh. cat. Palazzo Reale (Milan), 27 September 2003 - 18 January 2004), Milan 2004
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
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