photographic reproduction, all these elements converge to consider this painting as an autograph by Merisi. In any case, this is an original of outstanding quality. "An imitator does not make changes, he copies." The closed, elliptical structure of the central composition is similar to that of other works from the period between 1600 and 1602, such as the one entitled "The Entombment of Christ". A final remark concerns the so-called "rescue technique" that Caravaggio used to depict the abrasions of some fragments: It consists in using the underlying preparation of the canvas as paint and making it visible with a particularly effective "brick-red" effect. These are features that can only be found in a prototype and not in a replica or, least of all, in a copy, and are thus further proof of the autography of this work. The technique of this painting, revealed in its exceptional quality, develops through overlapping layers of colour that underline a clear, explanatory project. As far as the purely technical aspects of the execution are concerned, it was noted that the painting has a support made of a single canvas whose texture, in terms of the number of threads, appears identical to that of "Saint John the Baptist" in the Capitoline Art Gallery when compared by X-ray. The Trieste version "The Incredulity of Saint Thomas" is published in the Maurizio Marini corpus catalogico "Caravaggio - Pictor praestantissimus" Newton & Compton - 2005 in position Q50. The painting is declared as "d'interesse artistico e storico" by the "Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali Sopraintendenza Regionale del Friuli - Venezia Giulia". See also List of paintings by Caravaggio References External links Page at www.wga.hu Paintings by Caravaggio 1600s paintings Paintings depicting Jesus Paintings about death Christian art about death Paintings depicting Thomas the Apostle Paintings in Potsdam