The Calling of Saint Matthew
Caravaggio
MICHELANGELO MERISI DA CARAVAGGIO, 1600. OIL ON CANVAS.
Caravaggio was a rebel, an outcast, a murderer, and a genius. Almost single-handedly, he shifted the Renaissance away from heavens and brought it crashing down to earth. He cast prostitutes as life models for the mother Mary, pimps and street urchins as disciples, and found religion, salvation and divinity in the dark streets and underbelly of Rome. His paintings exist in back rooms, illuminated by the rare light that finds its way through cracks and dirty windows, and depict biblical stories as contemporary scenes, with all figures dressed in the garb of the day. The calling of Matthew is one of a series of painting depicting Matthew’s story, culminating in his vicious and visceral murder, all hanging at the French Church in Rome. They are a masterclass in chiaroscuro, the interplay between intense darkness and bright light, and exemplify a new understanding of religious art - one that is applicable and relatable to the everyman.