Vision of St Thomas Aquinas

What it is

This is a painting by Santi di Tito, dated 1593. It shows a crucified Christ with a halo of thorns and a titulus reading INRI. Kneeling and standing figures surround the cross, including the Virgin Mary in a white veil and a woman in red. At the right, a Dominican friar in a black habit holds an open book and looks upward. The image shows Christ nude with visible wounds, as a religious subject.

Why it matters

Aquinas was a Dominican friar, and this painting places a member of that order in a scene of devotion to the crucifixion. Late sixteenth-century painters often showed saints in visions of Christ, to encourage prayer and to present the Church's teachings. The painting reveals how Aquinas was remembered by artists after his death, as a figure linked to the sacrifice of Christ.

Look closer

• Where do your eyes go first in this picture, and what does the friar seem to be looking at?
• Why might a painter include the Virgin, a woman in red and a kneeling figure around the cross?
• This is a later religious image, not a record of an event. What might it leave out about Aquinas's actual life?