Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePainting1476

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Justus van Gent · 1476

A panel from the Urbino studiolo series of famous men, showing Thomas Aquinas seated with a book among humanist cultural heroes.

This panel places Aquinas among a Renaissance gallery of famous men of learning in the Urbino studiolo.

Ask Saint Thomas Aquinas about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Painting of a bearded man in a black hood and dark gray cloak over white robes, seated before a green-covered book, with both hands raised in front of him. A red wall and white arches are behind him. The inscription 'THOMAE AQVINATI' is on the lower frame.
Justus van Gent (and Pedro Berruguete), Saint Thomas Aquinas, 1476. Louvre, Paris.

About this source

What it is

This painting, from 1476, is attributed in part to Justus van Gent (with Pedro Berruguete) and is held in the Department of Paintings of the Louvre. It shows a bearded man in a black hood and dark cloak, seated before a green-covered book, with the inscription 'THOMAE AQVINATI' on the frame.

Why it matters

This panel was part of a series made for the studiolo, a private study, in Urbino, which gathered portraits of famous men of learning. Placing Aquinas among such figures shows how, by the Renaissance, he was honoured not only as a saint but as one of history's great intellectuals, alongside humanist heroes.

Look closer

  • Why might Renaissance patrons want Aquinas pictured with humanist thinkers rather than only other saints?
  • What does his pose, with hands raised and a book before him, suggest about how he is being presented?
  • What does the Latin inscription add that the image alone does not?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Thomas Aquinas on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Saint Thomas Aquinas sources

Meet the AI Saint Thomas Aquinas →
Title page of a 1596 Venice edition printed by Iuntas, with Latin text announcing two indexes to the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas, and a central ornate oval emblem with a fleur-de-lis and the letters L and A.Book

Primary source

Summa Theologica

Thomas Aquinas · 1274

Oil painting of a bearded monk in a dark black habit, seated at a desk with an open book and a stack of books, gazing upward. A crucifix with a figure of Christ hangs at upper right against a dark background.Painting

Secondary source

St Thomas Aquinas, 17th-century Italian oil painting

17th century

Document

Primary source

Pange Lingua Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium

Thomas Aquinas · 1263

Engraving of a haloed saint kneeling at left, hand raised in refusal, facing a seated pope wearing a tiara and holding a crosier, with mitred bishops and a canopy behind. Latin caption text below.Painting

Secondary source

Thomas Aquinas Refuses the Archbishopric of Naples

1610

Painted altarpiece panel with a gold background. Christ is enthroned at the top within a pointed arch. Below, four evangelist-like figures hold open books. A central monk in black habit holds an open book inscribed with text, surrounded by a dark circle with golden rays. Figures in red and black robes flank him, and a crowd of people with halos and a kneeling figure appear at the bottom.Painting

Secondary source

Triumph of Saint Thomas Aquinas

Lippo Memmi · 1340

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Saint Thomas Aquinas now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions