1603_Doubting_Thomas_Caravaggio.txt http://www.artbible.info/art/large/10.html Caravaggio 1573 – 1610 Doubting Thomas oil on canvas (107 × 146 cm) — 1602-1603 Sanssouci, Potsdam Caravaggio biography This work is linked to John 20:27 Also known as Saint Thomas Putting his Finger on Christ's Wound. Thomas was one of the twelve apostles. When Jesus showed himself to his followers after his resurrection, Thomas refused to believe that the man really was his dead master. He demanded evidence. Jesus than showed him the wound caused by a Roman soldier's lance before his crucifixion. He invited Thomas to put his finger on the wound. Caravaggio shows that Thomas soon lost all his doubts. Almost identical copies of this painting and of Pilgrimage to Emmaus were found in a church in the French town Loches, in 1999. After investigation it was announced in 2006 that both works were authentic Caravaggios. Both contained the shield of arms of Philippe de Bethune, a friend of Caravaggio's and French ambassador in Rome. Records show that Bethune acquired four paintings from the painter. Caravaggio often made several copies of his own paintings.