Thomas the Doubter

Krishen Khanna incorporates Christian imagery into his paintings to illuminate the plight of the 'Everyman'. Khanna states, "Long ago, when my father came back from Milan, he brought a picture of The Last Supper with him. He told us the story of Christ. My first attempt at the picture was to copy it. Of course, it didn't work. My father made a miniature of it and told me how to put various people in various places. He was teaching me composition without putting in the details of figures .... The whole setting of the Jesus theme is, more or less, Nizamuddin -- the playhouse of all the artists at that point. My father used to say that the people who visit the area are not different from the biblical characters. The business of doubt and faith is still there now. So 'Doubting Thomas' and 'Emmaus' came in. These are pivotal works in the sense that they pinpoint the issues which are important, not just in the sense of their historical clothing." (A. Akhtar, The News, Pakistan, 23 January 2005.) While the powerful image of Doubting Thomas, the biblical character who could not believe Jesus had been resurrected unless he himself touched Christ's wounds, has fascinated artists over the centuries. Khanna skillfully renders the central figures of Jesus and his disciple like the ordinary rough hewn labourers of Delhi. "The Christian theme in his hands becomes a subaltern, Indian tragedy of the outcome of conflict with figures of authority." (G. Sinha, Krishen Khanna: A Critical Biography, New Delhi, 2002, p. 135).