Saint Thomas holding a square rule, his head turned to the right 1510 - 1532

Editor: Here we have Marco Dente's "Saint Thomas holding a square rule, his head turned to the right," created sometime between 1510 and 1532. It's an engraving, currently residing here at the Met. It strikes me as…introspective. He’s holding a square rule, but his gaze is averted, almost mournful. What do you make of it? Curator: Well, you know, I feel a kinship with Thomas, eternally the doubter, burdened with proof. Here he is, rendered in meticulous lines – almost scientific, don't you think? – yet he turns away, as if even measurement cannot soothe some deeper unease. Notice how the light catches the halo, barely there, almost an afterthought. Dente captures that hesitant faith beautifully, the wrestling with the divine using earthly tools. Do you see it? Editor: I do! The halo isn't solid, more like…energy. And that square rule suddenly feels less like a tool and more like a symbol of his struggle. It is amazing how something static on toned paper could be read like that. Curator: Exactly. The Renaissance was a tightrope walk, wasn’t it? Between faith and reason, heaven and earth. Artists like Dente felt the tension in their very bones, and gifted it to us on paper like this. Editor: So, in a way, Saint Thomas embodies that conflict? Curator: Precisely! He’s every artist, every scientist, every believer caught between worlds. Don’t you feel that slight melancholy tugging at you? Editor: I really do now. I thought it was a straightforward depiction, but it is the question itself what makes this engraving alive and captivating! Curator: And that’s the beauty, isn't it? Art cracks open what we think we know. Thanks for opening this dialogue!