St. Thomas Aquinas
by Carlo Crivelli
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) is one of the greatest thinkers in the history of the world. His contribution to Catholic and Western Culture is not often understood for its profound depth. Writing in the 1200s, as the Crusaders brought back books of Aristotle's philosophy into the Platonic tradition of Western Christendom, there was friction and confusion with the new competing school of thought. Aquinas bridged the gap. The sun on his chest is the light of reason and the light of faith, which he proved was a single light.
The Summa Theologiae is written in a methodical, point-counterpoint style. You might take a look at this nice version of it: https://www.newadvent.org/summa/. Or this by Alfred J. Freddoso, a Notre Dame Professor Emeritus: https://www3.nd.edu/~afreddos/summa-translation/TOC.htm. Try the 5 proofs of God. St. Thomas knew they were not absolute, uncontestable proofs that a rational person had to accept to keep their sanity, but they are very reasonable, hard to dispute, and provide even more accumulative weight for the justification of the Faith.
Carlo Crivelli, 1430-1495, was a Catholic painter from Italy. Aquinas had built the coherency of the age Crivelli lived in. Aquinas is someone we can pray to anytime, but especially in times like these when the intellectual coherency of our culture is unraveling for many people outside the faith. He is a Doctor of the Church. His Feast Day is January 28. He is the Patron Saint of scholars and students.
You might also like the recent paining of Aquinas by Sue Kouma Johnson, soon to be in her Etsy store, TreeOfHeaven.
** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border of about 0.5" inch for 5x7", 1.3" for 8.5x11", or 1.6" for 11x14" pictures. All Approx! Fine art printers do this because the images are almost never the same rectangular ratio of the standard paper sizes. It also gives the prints a finished look, and lets them look good in a frame without a matt.
- Acid-free paper
- Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
- Cardboard backer
- Above story of the art
- Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.
Thanks for your interest!
Thanks!
Sue & John
"In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art." ~ St. Pope John Paul II
Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson - CatholicArtAndJewelry.