Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Italian Dominican priest, theologian, philosopher and saint. Aquinas's work on Scholasticism, the attempt to reconcile Christianity with Aristotelian philosophy, greatly influenced Catholic thinking and Western thought, particularly in ethics, natural law and political theory. Thomas also studied Islamic writers, particularly Avicenna and Averroes, and the Jewish philosopher Maimonides. Aquinas's major works are the Summa Theologiae and the Summa Contra Gentiles. This artwork is part of a 14th century fresco in the Spanish Chapel of the Santa Maria Novella church, Florence, Italy.