Novo-Hispanic school. Mexico.  18th century. Table-blazon or crowning piece of a reredos, depicting St. Thomas Aquinas”. 124 x 93 cm.   Blazon or altarpiece painting, profusely carved and gilded, with incised decoration of scrolls, flowers and geometrical designs made in polychrome and estofado technique, with a biretta in black centered above it.  It has a central cartouche with an oil painting on panel of the Saint and Doctor of the Dominican Church (since 1567, proclaimed by Pope St. Pius V), known as the Angelic Doctor, Common Doctor and Doctor of Humanity, whose work is fundamental for the study of philosophy and theology.  He was the main  defender of natural theology. With the characteristic carving style of New Spanish Mexican art, we contemplate “a complex artifact” that encloses St. Thomas Aquinas, a painting with a frame forming part of a coat of arms, or an isolated crowning piece from an altarpiece or the door of a library or a refectory or chapter room, to which it would have been integrated (in the manner of the doors of the Library of Coimbra of the Jesuit Fathers). This is a baroque artwork that shows unity and coherence, having a style which is difficult to include within formal canons.  This clearly baroque piece is not very dogmatic in its artistic execution, because it shows an extraordinary eagerness for novelty and, in the process of its creation, limitless fantasy that makes it exceptional, unique and unrepeatable. In the center, on a plain panel in the middle of this elaborate frame, we contemplate St. Thomas Aquinas, full-length and standing, depicted in a Dominican monk´s habit, wearing a white tunic with a scapular, and a black cloak with its hood thrown back.  With his right hand he holds a pen from which a halo of light or fire emanates, referring to his books and written doctrine. With the left hand he holds a monstrance. This refers to his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, which manifested itself in particular in his magnificent composition of his Eucharistic Hymn 'Adoro Te Devote.' On his chest hangs a sun, which is an attribute to show his wisdom, and behind his back two large wings protrude, which allude to the moment when the angels girded the saint with the symbol of chastity.   Above his head is Christ crucified surrounded by putti, who descend from the heavens to inspire him.    The figure of the saint is depicted as a young man, beardless and with a monastic tonsure. He is superimposed on a landscape in which, at his feet, he treads and defeats the Moors and infidels, in the manner of Santiago Matamoros, as defender of “la verae doctrinae”. In the words of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, St. Thomas Aquinas is “the model of the correct way of theology”.   He showed that there is harmony between faith and reason, that faith is not contrary to reason. St. Thomas not only dedicated himself to study and teaching, but also preached to the people. He was a theologian who knew how to speak with simplicity and kindness.   His feast day is celebrated on January 28.   Provenance: - Large estate. Seville.'