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Saint Thomas Aquinas

CultureSpanish
Date15th century
MediumAlabaster
DimensionsOverall: 39 1/2 × 11 × 7 1/2 inches, 184 lb. (100.33 × 27.94 × 19.05 cm, 83.46 kg)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number30-44
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 105
Collections
DescriptionSaint in monastic robes, right hand raised in blessing, left hand carrying a book.Exhibition History

Exposición Internacional de Barcelona: 1929-1930: El Arte en España, Palacio Nacional, Barcelona, 1929-1930, no. 855.

 

Soldiers and Saints in Old Spain and New, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE, November 25, 1962-February 15, 1963, no. S3.

Gallery Label
Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1225-1274) was a philosopher and a Dominican priest who is recognized as one of the greatest theologians of the Middle Ages. Thus a star of wisdom appears on this alabaster depiction of the philosopher saint, who carries a book indicating his scholarly status. Like most medieval sculpture, the entire surface of this figure was originally painted, and some of the predominantly black and white pigments are still visible.
Provenance

El Conde de Cirat, Madrid, by November 7, 1930;

 

Purchased from the Conde de Cirat by the dealer J. H. Duveen (b. 1873), November 7, 1930 [1];

 

Purchased from Duveen, through Maxwell Blake and Harold Woodbury Parsons, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1930.

 

NOTES:

 

[1] According to a handwritten note by the Conde de Cirat, November 7, 1930, NAMA curatorial files. The sculpture was lent to the Expositión Internacional de Barcelona: El Arte en España at the Palacio Nacional, Barcelona, 1929-1930, no. 855, by the Marqués de Valderrey, Madrid. It is unclear whether the Conde de Cirat and the Marqués de Valderrey were the same person.

Published References

Exposición Internacional de Barcelona: 1929-1930: El Arte en España, exh. cat. (Barcelona: Eugenio Subirana, 1929), 142, as Santo Tomás.

 

“Spain: Major Exhibitions for 1962,” exh. cat., Bulletin (Joslyn Art Museum), 4 (1962): 8, (repro.), as Saint Thomas.

 

Dorothy Gillerman, Gothic Sculpture in America, vol. 2, The Museums of the Midwest (Turnhout: Brepols, 2001), 226-27, (repro.).
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.


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