Image: “The Calling of St. Matthews” by Caravaggio
What The Calling of St. Matthews Is:
Caravaggio painted the Calling of St. Matthews in 1599 – 1600 (Khan Academy). Specifically, the painting is one of 3 paintings by Caravaggio in the same chapel. All three of these paintings feature the disciple Matthew. Namely, this painting illustrates the moment Matthew becomes a disciple (Khan Academy). This conversion is emphasized because Matthew used to be a tax collector. Tax collectors, especially when this painting was finished, were considered evil, greedy, and totally devoid of morality (Khan Academy).
What makes St. Matthews Unique:
The uniqueness of this painting is heavily based on the time it was painted and the conventions it broke. First and foremost, the moment of Matthew’s conversion was a prevalent motif at the time. However, Caravaggio makes his portrayal more unique by suspending the moment to be Matthew’s realization of what is happening, not his final conversion (Khan Academy). This illustrates that Caravaggio separates his work from others of a similar subject matter by implementing an unusual composition. Secondly, this painting further separates itself by breaking the Renaissance convention of high naturalism. Renaissance artists depicted biblical moments with an unprecedented emphasis on reality. However, these biblical moments are depicted in a removed reality that appears removed from the laymen’s reality due to the divine connection. This is the convention Caravaggio breaks by putting the conversion of Matthew in a small, dirty backroom (Khan Academy). Finally, the third component of this piece that makes it unique is the ambiguity behind it. Intended or not, who in the painting is Matthew is something under continued debate (Hass). Particularly, as labeled in the annotated version of the image, there are two characters argued as Matthew (Hass). This gives the message of the piece an unpredicted layer of depth as each figure of Matthew implies different nuances.
What St. Matthews Says:
Each component of this painting creates another angle of complexity to Caravaggio’s thought process and the message he is trying to portray. For example, by breaking the conventions of showing Matthew before or after his conversion, Caravaggio emphasizes the component of Matthew’s story he deems most important. The focus is neither Matthew as a disciple nor as a sinner. Instead, the power of the story comes from the act of transition. St. Matthew has long since represented the religious idea that, in Christianity, no one is above redemption so long as they have faith. Subsequently, Caravaggio shows the brief yet all-important moment where Matthew gains faith and begins his path to redemption. This creates a romanticization and idealization not of the redeemed himself but of the opportunity for redemption.
Similarly, Caravaggio reinforces this romanticization of redemption for everyone by breaking the conventions around where divine moments occur. In earlier pieces, moments of biblical importance were painted with intense realism. However, the realism in the art style was undercut by unrealistic and divine settings. Caravaggio then manipulates this precedent to emphasize the divine savior in a sinful world. Specifically, this is achieved through the manipulation of light. The back room is dark and isolated (Khan Academy). This darkness goes to the point that the lone window in the room, which would be a traditional light source, is dirty to the point of being brown. However, as Jesus enters the rooms, a beam of unnatural light from above breaks through the darkness. This light illuminates Jesus and then follows the angle of his pointing hand to Matthew (Khan Academy). Through this, Caravaggio juxtaposes the dark and sinful world everyone lives in with the bright and divine world that faith brings. Thereby, the painting illustrates that the opportunity for redemption is possible for everyone and anyone.
Finally, the ambiguity around which figure represents Matthew also plays into the message of the painting. Either variation of Matthew emphasizes the idea of being redeemed from sin. One illustrates a man who has finally been pulled away from his wrongs by the shock that he has the opportunity to be a part of something divined (Hass). While the second one shows a young man who is still doing wrong at the instance that another path eliminates his world (Hass). Even though each of these Matthews illustrates the path to redemption a bit differently, the fact that two figures could be the future saint’s influences the theme. On an individual level, who Matthew is and what he looks like is not truly relevant. The point of St. Matthew and the key to his story is that someone, anyone, whom sins can find forgiveness in God. Hollsitically, Caravaggio does not care what Matthew looks like; instead, he cares that his audience learns Matthew’s story and the promise it guarantees everyone to do the right thing.
How St. Matthews is Changed by the Modern World:
The Calling of St. Matthew is, by audience, creator, and subject matter, a Christain painting. It displays the Christian savior and a moment of conversion to Christianity. This religious association was, at the time of creation, central to the motivation of the painting. Caravaggio’s work was meant to encourage and promote the Christain faith. However, this overt religious connection does not always have a positive impact in the modern world. The objective theme of the story that anyone can turn their life around and start doing good is one that people of diverse faith adopt. However, fully appreciating that theme within this painting is hindered by the religiousness of the work. For someone who is not Christain, separating the theme of the painting and its universality from the abundant iconography can be difficult. Thereby, what made this work so relatable at its creation now separates it from large portions of the modern audience.
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Works Cited
- “Caravaggio, Calling of Saint Matthew and Inspiration of St. Matthew (Video).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/reformation-counter-reformation/v/caravaggio-s-calling-of-st-matthew-c-1599-1600.
- “Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 8 Nov. 2022, https://www.flickr.com/photos/profzucker/26198049329/in/photostream/lightbox.
- Hass, Angela. “Caravaggio’s Calling of St Matthew Reconsidered.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol. 51, no. 1, 1988, pp. 245–250., https://doi.org/10.2307/751282.