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Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) was an Italian artist with a reputation as rebellious and dangerous. He was rumored to have killed a man. The paintings he produced in Rome during the 1600’s contained images that shocked the people of the time but were brilliant. One of these paintings is the Calling of St Matthew. The work is located in its original location, which only adds to the impact of the fascinating painting. This painting, along with some others, placed Caravaggio at the forefront of the naturalist movement in Rome. The Calling of St. Matthew is located in the Contarelli chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi church where it was placed in 1600. There are also two other Caravaggio works in the chapel. the Calling of St. Matthew is shocking because of it’s setting in a grungy Roman tavern, yet it was accepted by the clergy who rejected the first version of Caravaggio’s The Inspiration of St. Matthew. The Calling of St. Matthew depicts the story told in the Gospel of St. Matthew chapter nine verse nine. In the painting, we see St. Matthew seated at a table with some bad company. Caravaggio’s use of light in this painting is unique in that the evil people are in the light while Jesus in the darkness and almost completely covered by Peter, who stands in front of him. This use of light suggests the passage “the people that sat in darkness have seen a great light.” Jesus’ face is memorable, stern and confident as he points a finger across the room to Matthew. His arm bridges the gap between himself and the greedy men. The gesture similar to the gesture in Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, suggesting that Jesus is not just summoning Matthew, he is giving him a new life. I find this painting fascinating, along with the man who painted it. I like the Caravaggio did, for the most part, what he wanted, even though it wasn’t always accepted and shocked many important people. I love the use of light as a major component in the telling of the story. I also love that Caravaggio showed the scene as it would have been, grimy and real.
Elizabeth Fulmer, Survey of Art and Architecture, University of Florida
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Caravaggio’s paintings are probably what make the San Luigi Dei Francesi Church so well known. He painted these within six years in the early 1600’s, during this time he also was a reputed criminal and was sought after. His paintings are three depictions of the life of St. Matthew in the Contarelli Chapel of this church. The San Luigi Dei Francesi Church is the French community church of Rome. It was a French cardinal, Mathieu Cointrel (Contarelli as it was changed in Italian), who endowed the money for someone to paint in this church. Contarelli was actually dead before anyone had even been hired to do the paintings so it is unknown what he would of thought of these controversial paintings. A lot of people actually had issues with his first painting the Inspiration of St. Matthew because there were bulging bare legs and dirty feet. The patrons actually refused to pay for it so he had to re-do the painting. His paintings show how tormented Caravaggio was; for example the bad people were shown in the light of the painting, and the good were in the dark. He also shows Calling of St. Matthew taking place in a grimy Roman tavern which also took harsh judgment. His third painting, Martyrdom of St. Matthew was the only not to cause any issues. All of Caravaggio’s paintings are actually still in their original locations which is something rare since there are so many museums and even Pope’s that move things. I really liked going to see this church especially because of the kind of person Caravaggio was, we do not see many paintings like this.
Nicole Dagostino, Survey of Art and Architecture, St. John’s University
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Caravaggio was a troubled man as a result of his great temper. He was physically and verbally violent which was not good. Although Caravaggio had many offenses, arrests, and imprisonments he created some of the most original and compelling works of Italian art. After 1599 nearly all Caravaggio’s paintings were religious. As a result, he was expressing his spirituality through his works of art. Caravaggio completed more than a dozen religious works, among them are the decoration of the Contarelli Chapel in the Church of S. Luigi dei Francesi with three large paintings of the life of St. Matthew.
The Calling of St. Matthew is one of the three great art works created by Caravaggio. This particular painting is on the left wall where Caravaggio showed the event taking place in a grimy Roman tavern. Caravaggio reminds us in this particular art- work that Jesus did not choose an exemplary man as his Evangelist, but a corrupt and venal one, a man made uncomfortable among his shady friends by the sudden appearance of Jesus and Peter. Matthews face in this painting could be looked at closely and illustrate the depth of his embarrassment from being in bad company. The two men to his left are greedy people in which the older lean forward to view the money on the table and adjusts his glasses better to see it, while the younger man studies the coins with his own mind. At the other end of the table are two insolent young dandies that are staring at Peter and Jesus.
This painting has a great deal of light and some darkness. It is ironic that the light falls on the tax collectors rather than Jesus or Peter. Therefore the evil ones were bathed in light and the sacred figures were in relative darkness. This painting is playing on the double meaning of illumination as a physical and spiritual event in which Caravaggio’s lights main focus is on Matthew, yet at the same time suggests the fulfillment of prophecy. Caravaggio’s paintings were the best paintings I have seen yet because they were realistic, made great use of color, and the way he used the light to express the meaning in the picture was incredible. Also the fact that the painting was in its original location had significant impact on the piece of art.
Alexis Simmons, Survey of Art and Architecture, St. John's University
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