Reading
Two clues for Thomas
A man examining the wound in the risen Christ’s side belongs to the meeting in John 20. A standing apostle holding a set square belongs to another tradition about Thomas as a builder. Both may represent him, but only the first picture illustrates the Gospel episode.
Number the speakers
Return to John 6. First Jesus addresses Philip, then Philip answers, then Andrew mentions the boy. Try describing the scene without giving any adult the child’s own food as a personal attribute. That distinction prevents an apparently plausible wrong answer.
Checkpoint takeaway
A narrative identifies participants through their actions as well as the objects in view.
Visual study
Where does the painter turn Thomas’s doubt into an action?
Choose one of the three areas of the artwork.
View the complete works and their labels
Christ guides Thomas’s hand towards his side while the other men lean close.
After Caravaggio · 1610–1620 · Public domainBernini places the fish with Andrew and the set square in Thomas’s hand.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini · National Gallery, London, NG6381