Sculptures

Christ and Saint Thomas by Verrocchio

Introduction

Christ and Saint Thomas depicts a scene in the Bible when Thomas laid his fingers on the wounds of Jesus after doubting reports of the other apostles that Christ was resurrected . Verrocchio had a lot to prove during the creation of the sculpture , coming out of an age after Ghiberti , Donatello , and Nanni de Banco and then , this sculpture would replace Saint Louis of Toulouse by Donatello . Verrocchio was also standing on unfamiliar territory because besides Nanni di Banco 's Four Crowned Saints , all

sculptures were single images that do not tell a story

About the Artist

Andrea del Verrocchio was an Italian artist . His real name was Andrea di Michele di Francesco di Cioni . It is believed he got his name from a former master Gulliano Verrocchi . There are also rumors that he was actually a student of Donatello but all these were just speculations and need further study . Another possible master of his was Alesso Baldovinetti , an artist from Florence . He has also been associated with Fra Fillipo Lippi , an early Renaissance master , with Sandro Boteccelli as a fellow student . Considered as the heir of Ghiberti even if he wasn 't his apprentice , he was very good in making sculptures out of bronze . He got his first training by forging gold , like how Ghiberti started out . Verrocchio was not just a sculptor , he was also an engineer and a painter . He became the teacher of famous painters like Lorenzo di Credi and Leonardo da Vinci himself . Verrochio became Florence 's top sculptor and made his mark as a Medici artist , through his yet another bronze masterpiece , David

Why I Like This Sculpture

The main reason why I like this particular sculpture is because it tells a story . Nanni di Banco 's Four Crowned Saints might have more figures in it but it lacks action that makes this sculpture more distinct than the others . Viewers can almost hear the dialog that was going on between Jesus Christ and Saint Thomas by looking at the sculpture alone : Reach your finger here , see my hands . Reach your hand here and put it into my side . Be unbelieving no longer , but believe Christ said , and Thomas responded : My Lord and my God ' These were the exact words , Jesus and Thomas said as written in the Bible in John 20 : 24-29

This style of Verrocchio reminds me of the stations of the cross where the sculptures clearly does not lack action

I also like this work because it is made of bronze and not marble . Some works like Donatello 's St . Mark and Nanni di Banco 's Three Crowned Saints were made of marble . Bronze sculptures are more advanced than marble sculptures and therefore the difficulty in creating one is more Christ and Saint Thomas is not just a bronze masterpiece , it 's an ingenious bronze masterpiece . The statues do not have backs , meaning they are hollow , they don 't need to be whole because they...