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St. Thomas

Georges de La TourUndated

The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan

Georges de la Tour was born in the Lorraine district of eastern France in the 17th century, and he spent his life in that district. After his death he was forgotten by history, until he was dramatically rediscovered in the 20th century. Today he is renowned as a painter worldwide. La Tour came to be known as the "night painter" given his many works showing a mystical setting lit by only the light of candles. Today only 40 some paintings are accepted as authentic works by the painter. St. Thomas, newly acquired in 2003 by the NMWA, is a painting that adorns the most recent page in the history of the rediscovery of this painter. The painting is considered a major work from La Tour's early period. It was only in 1987 that the existence of this painting became known. The painting was created in northern France as one in a series of the "Twelve Disciples of Christ", and for many years after its creation the set of paintings was placed in the cathedral in Albi. There is powerful realism in this work, including its painstaking portrayal of each and every wrinkle on the saint's face. This realism combines with a simplified composition of geometric forms created by areas highlighted by the carefully rendered daylight. This combination of characteristics is only found in authentic La Tour works. This series of paintings can be considered "day paintings" by contrast to the "night painting" examples lit solely by candlelight. Here the subject is one of Christ's twelve disciples, St. Thomas, known to have set out for distant India on his proselytizing journey, only to be martyred when spears were thrown by hostile heathens. Here Thomas is shown as a mature man with a full beard, holding his symbol, the spear. This spear alludes to the spear used by the Roman soldier to pierce Christ on the Cross. When Christ was resurrected, Thomas doubted his lord and asked to see the scar of the spear's thrust. Christ showed him the scar and he believed in Christ's resurrection. Here the doubting nature of this resolute saint is splendidly depicted in a diagonally arranged composition. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 42)

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  • Title: St. Thomas
  • Creator Lifespan: 1593 - 1652
  • Creator Nationality: French
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Lunéville
  • Creator Birth Place: Vic-sur-Seille
  • Date Created: Undated
  • Location Created: France
  • Provenance: Discovered in a private collection in Albi in 1987; Collection B. R., Paris;Vente Christie's no. 155, Monaco, 22 June 1991; Gallery Umeda, Osaka; Ishizuka Collection, Tokyo, September 1991; Auctioned at Christie's, London, no. 41, 10 December 1993.
  • Physical Dimensions: w539 x h646 mm
  • Painter: Georges de La Tour
  • Object title (Japanese): 聖トマス
  • Object notes (Japanese): 17世紀に東フランスのロレーヌ地方に生まれ、生涯をその地で過ごしたジョルジュ・ド・ラ・トゥールは、死後人々に忘れ去られたものの、20世紀になって劇的な形で再発見され、現在では世界的な名声を得た画家の一人となっている。とりわけ、蝋燭の光に照らし出された神秘的な画面を多く残したところから「夜の画家」とも呼ばれるが、今日まで残る真作は僅か40数点にしかすぎない。西洋美術館のコレクションに新たに加わった《聖トマス》もまた、こうした再発見史の最も新しいページを飾る作品で、ラ・トゥールの初期の代表的作例とみなされている。その存在が世に知られたのはごく近年の、1987年のことであった。本来この絵は「キリストと十二使徒」を表わす連作のうちの1点として北フランスで描かれ、その後は長い間南フランス、アルビの町の大聖堂内に置かれていた。皮膚の皺一本一本を苛烈なまでに克明に描写する力強いレアリスム、光の洗練された取り扱いを通して簡素な幾何学性を際立たせる画面構成などはラ・トゥールの真作のみに見られる特徴であり、蝋燭の光を画面効果として用いた「夜の絵」に対して「昼の絵」と呼ばれる一連の作品に属している。ここで主題となっているのは、キリストの十二使徒の一人で、遠くインドにまで伝道に赴き異教の人々に槍で突かれて殉教した聖トマスである。ひげを蓄えた壮年の人物として描かれた聖人は、その持物である槍(十字架上でローマ兵の槍に突かれて絶命するキリストの隠喩。キリスト復活の際に、トマスはそれを疑い、脇腹の槍傷を触ってようやく納得したという聖書中の記述で知られる)を手にしている。ラ・トゥールは「不信のトマス」と呼ばれるこの猜疑心に満ちた頑固な聖人の性格を、対角線の構図の中に見事に描き出した。(出典: 国立西洋美術館名作選. 東京, 国立西洋美術館, 2006, cat. no. 42)
  • Artist Name (Japanese): ラ・トゥール、ジョルジュ・ド
  • Type: Paintings
  • Rights: http://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/information/privacy.html
  • External Link: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

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