Saint Thomas Aquinas writing the hymn of the Holy Sacrament

This painting of Saint Thomas Aquinas composing his famous eucharistic hymns represents the Dominican intellectual tradition at its most exalted — the great theologian inspired by divine grace to produce texts still used in Catholic liturgy. Guercino's treatment belongs to his later, more classicizing manner, when he had moved away from the dramatic chiaroscuro of his youth toward a lighter, more refined style influenced by Guido Reni. The Dominicans were among Guercino's most important patrons in Bologna.

Lighter palette and more balanced composition reflect Guercino's mature classical manner, with the saint's writing gesture providing the compositional focus. Softer modeling and more even illumination distinguish this from the dramatic tenebrism of his earlier religious works.