Thomas Aquinas’ definition of the imago Dei and the development of lifelike portraiture 1

The article examines the philosophical basis of the development of man’s lifelike representation during the 13th century while focusing on Thomas Aquinas’ concept of the « image of man », imago Dei. Aquinas undertakes indeed a profound restructuring of the traditional definition of the imago Dei. By doing so he emphasizes the soul/body relationship in the human being and singles out as profoundly important the soul’s possibility to exercise influence on the body. The article cites passages of Aquinas’ writings to demonstrate the philosopher’s thinking. It also refers to contemporary practices in rituals and hagiographic believes to show the relevance of these ideas outside the strictly philosophical and theoretical sphere. Adopting a new notion of the imago Dei meant in the same breath an increasing of the body’s ennoblement. Its most famous paradigm is the stigmata wonder of Saint Francis of Assisi. As a consequence of the new importance assigned to human corporeity, the bodies of virtuous persons become worth being represented. Lifelike portraiture of the 13th century wishes to underline the extraordinary quality of the shown persons. Therefore the resembling artifacts represent, at their beginnings, the human beings while at the most decisive moment of their earthly life : directly after the death when the body has stopped being influenced by the soul and represents a sort of a relic of the latter. ; Le présent article examine l’arrière-plan philosophique entourant les premières représentations ressemblantes de l’homme au xiiie siècle en prêtant une attention particulière au concept d’« image de Dieu » (imago Dei), dont Thomas d’Aquin renouvelle en profondeur la définition traditionnelle. Il revient en effet au théologien médiéval d’avoir souligné l’étroite solidarité entre l’âme et le corps, ainsi que l’aptitude de la première à modeler le second. La démonstration proposée ici se fonde sur les passages de l’œuvre thomiste éclairant cette thèse. Elle prend appui notamment sur les pratiques en usage à ...