Jemima Fennell
ARTE E CULTURA
ARTE E CULTURA
The Calling of St Matthew, painted seven years later, is a development of Caravaggio’s skill and reputation. His first significant commission and displayed in the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, the work is a scene depicting a moment of enlightenment as Matthew turns from sinner to saint. The divine light of Christ is not only metaphorical but physical as it illuminates the room and the figures, more so than the window above them. Caravaggio captures each of the figures’ reactions so realistically that the viewer feels a part of the painting, questioning, as they do, why Jesus, the son of God, is in a dark, dingy room where the tax collectors greedily count their money.
Caravaggio is not only an artist at the heart of Italy who is admired worldwide for his legacy but an incredibly interesting character who has inspired artists throughout time.
Source: Flicker, ErgSap