Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas

Francisco de Zurbaran completed this monumental altarpiece in 1631 for the Dominican College of St. Thomas in Seville. At nearly 4.75 by 3.75 meters, it's his largest surviving composition. The painting shows Thomas Aquinas ascending to heaven where Christ, the Virgin Mary, Saint Paul, and Saint Dominic await him, while the Holy Spirit descends as a dove.

The lower register depicts the college's founders: Emperor Charles V on the right and Cardinal Diego de Deza with Dominican monks on the left. A purple velvet-covered table holds the college's founding document. Some believe Zurbaran painted himself among the monks in profile. The round-faced Thomas may be based on the college's housekeeper, a friend of the artist.

The painting now hangs at the Museum of Fine Arts of Seville, housed in the former convent of the Merced. Four Doctors of the Church surround the ascending saint: Gregory, Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine. The Baroque composition balances earthly and heavenly worlds in a single dramatic vision.