Circle of Cristóbal García Salmerón (Cuenca, 1603 - Madrid, 1666) ; 17th century. "Saint Thomas". Oil on canvas. Re-retouched. It presents repainting and restorations. Measurements: 139.5 x 103 cm. In this work of tenebrist aesthetics we can observe the figure of an apostle, who by the tear of his shirt, seems to be in penitence. It is a representation of Saint Thomas, which can be deduced because it follows the aesthetic patterns of the work that belongs to the collection of the Prado Museum in Madrid, attributed to the artist Cristóbal García Salmerón (Cuenca, 1603 - Madrid, 1666). In his right hand he holds a staff, on which he leans, while in his left he holds a paper on which we can read: Descendit ad inferos: tertia die resurrexit a mortuis , the Spanish translation of which means he descended into hell, on the third day he rose from the dead , one of the phrases that make up the Apostles Symbol or Creed. The Apostles Creed (Latin: Symbolum Apostolorum or Symbolum Apostolicum), sometimes called the Apostles Creed or Apostles Symbol, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". Although we know little biographical information about the Baroque painter Cristóbal García Salmerón, Antonio Palomino indicates that he was a disciple of Pedro de Orrente. Indeed, in the language of the Cuenca-born painter we can see the influence of this and other masters from Toledo. It is also Palomino who gives us the approximate date of his birth, 1603, as well as the place where he was born. Although there are no documents confirming his apprenticeship with Orrente, and we do not know whether it took place in Cuenca or Toledo, the latter is more likely, as his language reveals the influence of other painters active in that city such as Luis Tristán and Juan Bautista Maíno. The first signed work we have by García Salmerón is a "Saint Julian, Bishop of Cuenca" painted for Malaga cathedral in 1637, which combines the influences of Orrente and Vicente Carducho. Also in Cuenca cathedral is the altarpiece of Saint John the Baptist, also signed, which is undoubtedly his work most directly indebted to Orrente, particularly the "Nativity" scene. In this painting García Salmerón approached the subject through a genre viewpoint derived from the Bassano family and compatible with the use of Nordic prints in some of the details of the composition. Palomino cites another work, this one dated 1642, which illustrates the bullfighting festival held in honour of Philip IV as he passed through Cuenca on his way to Catalonia. The painting was taken to the Alcázar in Madrid, where the treatise writer saw it. Some years later, in 1648, García Salmerón was commissioned to paint a series of apostles and prophets for the Holy Week monument in the nave of the Kings in Cuenca cathedral. Although only the Apostles and four of the prophets in the nave s spandrels survive from this important cycle, they show that the painter used the engravings of Hans Vredeman de Vries, which were widely used in Spain from the second half of the 16th century, for the composition of his architectural backgrounds. García Salmerón is also credited with a second series of apostles, with the half-length figures holding cartouches with verses from the Creed and Jesus depicted as the Good Shepherd. It was a highly appreciated cycle in its time, as evidenced by the numerous copies in existence. At an unknown date, García Salmerón moved to Madrid, where he painted works such as the "Good Shepherd" in the Carmen Calzado in the city, now deposited by the Prado Museum in the church of San Jerónimo. This is when we still have today works from the final stage of his career, which continue to show a clear inheritance of Orrente s models. Works by this painter are currently conserved in the Prado Museum, the Municipal Museum of Játiva, the Provincial Museum of Ciudad Real, the Episcopal Palace of Mondoñedo and other collections.