The Feast of Corpus Christi was proposed by St. Thomas Aquinas to Pope Urban IV, in order to create a feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist, emphasising the joy of the Eucharist being the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Having recognized in 1264 the authenticity of the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena, the pontiff, then living in Orvieto, established the feast as a Solemnity and extended it to the whole Roman Catholic Church.
In this image of The Exaltation of the Eucharist by the Spanish court artist Isidoro Arredondo, we see a resplendent, typically Baroque sun-shaped monstrance triumphs in heavenly glory. It is raised by the playful momentum of naked cherubs and winged cherub heads, among which are displayed ears of wheat and a bunch of grapes and roses, a simple and direct allegory with clear references to the Eucharist and the Passion of Christ.
This image stemming from the Counter-Reformation’s response to the Protestant rejection of the doctrine of transubstantiation, displays a belligerent defence of the Eucharist and the real presence of Christ in the Catholic Mass.
The Arts of Golden Age Spain and the Hispanic World 