CARAVAGESQUE ARTIST from the 17th century
Saint Thaddeus
oil on canvas, cm 144×95,5
The canvas shows Saint Thaddeus, one of the apostles of Jesus. According to tradition, he commenced preaching after the Ascent of the Lord, perhaps evangelizing Mesopotamia or, as others maintain, Libya. Very probably a martyr, he is believed to have been buried in Persia.
The apostle, depicted as he browses a holy book, is recognizable thanks to his name, written below on the elaborate sign, which reproduces article 9 of the Creed or Apostolic Symbol ( “[I believe] in the holy Catholic Church, in the communion of the saints”), a very ancient prayer dating from the origins of the Church. It consists of 12 articles, the same number as the apostles, who were certainly depicted in a large cycle in which all the articles of the Creed were remembered, and that this painting was part of.
In terms of style, we may recognize a certain influence from Caravaggio, as witnessed by the attempted realism in the hands, that may be attributable to the interpretation of a Nordic master who worked in Italy.