The Historical Institute of the Order of Preachers is pleased to announce the recent publication of the volume Du saint dominicain au docteur commun : Thomas d’Aquin et ses représentations, published in the Dissertationes Historicae series.
The volume, edited by the art historians Émilie Roffidal and Claire Rousseau, is dedicated to the iconography of St. Thomas Aquinas –an important figure in the history of the Order, the Church and intellectual history– on the occasion of his triple jubilee: 700 years since his canonisation, 750 years since his death and 800 years since his birth, celebrated from 28 January 2023 to 28 January 2025. Nine contributions by various authors deal with the beginnings and spread of the iconography of St. Thomas and the historical-spiritual context in which such representations were disseminated.
Quoting the author of the introduction, Christian Heck, the book represents “a profoundly new contribution to our knowledge of the iconography of Thomas Aquinas, in a geographical area extending as far as the New World and in a completely open chronological framework, from the years immediately following the saint’s death to the middle of the 20th century. Art history here brilliantly confirms how much the analysis of figurative representations enriches cultural history and history in general.”
In his preface, the Master of the Order, Brother Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP, recalling the significant message of St. Thomas, writes:
“St. Thomas, who brilliantly championed the harmony between faith and reason, is recognized as an authority throughout the centuries. … Interestingly, St. Thomas admitted that he knew the divine mysteries more by prayer than by study. deductive reason can only go so far in grasping the divine, it has to give way to contemplative prayer and poetry: Adoro te devote, latens Deitas, quae sub his figuris vere latitas: tibi se cor meum totum subiicit, quia te contemplans totum deficit.
In an analogous manner, when so many words seem inadequate to describe a reality or a person, we turn to symbolic and artistic representation. Over the centuries, countless authors have written about St. Thomas. In the following pages we hope to learn more about how he and his work were perceived and appreciated through the “poetry” of images, symbols and art. The intense interest of earlier generations in the Doctor Angelicus indicates that they saw something in him that merits profound reflection. May this interest never wane and may those who devote themselves to the study of St. Thomas’ thoughts and teaching in our time gain fresh and further insights which can become the source and inspiration for a living Thomism.”
The volume was published by Viella and can be ordered from the publisher.
With this volume, the Historical Institute of the Order of Preachers and the Viella publishing house inaugurate their collaboration and can already announce the forthcoming publication of the volume Domenico di Caleruega, his Order and his memory from Bologna to the West, edited by Viliam Štefan Dóci OP and Riccardo Parmeggiani (vol. 43 of the Dissertationes Historicae).
