Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePainting1454

St Thomas Aquinas Holding a Book

Jean le Tavernier · 1454

A 1454 manuscript illumination by Jean le Tavernier showing Aquinas as a tonsured friar holding a book, made nearly two centuries after his death.

This later manuscript illumination depicts Aquinas as a scholarly friar, shaping how he was remembered after his death.

Ask Saint Thomas Aquinas about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Illuminated manuscript miniature in grisaille with gold-like highlights: a tonsured, haloed friar in a long hooded robe stands in a stone-vaulted room, holding an open book against his chest. Windows and an ornate cabinet appear behind him. A decorative foliage border surrounds the scene, and Latin text in black and red gothic script runs below.
Jean le Tavernier, St Thomas Aquinas holding a book, 1454. KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

About this source

What it is

This is an illuminated manuscript miniature created in 1454 by the artist Jean le Tavernier. It shows a tonsured, haloed friar in a long hooded robe holding an open book, standing in a stone-vaulted room. The manuscript is held today by the KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

Why it matters

This image was made about 180 years after Aquinas died, so it is not a true likeness but an imagined portrait reflecting how he was remembered and honored in the 15th century. It shows how later generations depicted Aquinas as a model of Christian scholarship, often holding a book to represent his vast written works.

Look closer

  • What details in the image suggest the figure is meant to be a religious scholar?
  • Why might an artist give a historical figure a halo, and what does that tell us about how they were remembered?
  • Since this was made long after Aquinas's death, what can and can't it tell us about what he actually looked like?

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