Calling of St. Matthew

Form

  • Light that comes from the spot on the right
  • Window overhead doesn’t give us much light
  • Tenebrism: A dramatic dark/light contrast
  • Narrow srage for everyone to sit and be on in this piece
  • Drama, action, tons of diagonals
  • Maintain the high naturalism in the High Rennesance
  • Considered “Radical Naturalism”: Showing characters that are not noble, but realistic, even Christ looks normal and barely elevated above his followers
  • Placed amongst multiple other ones
  • Contarelli Chapel: Belonged to Cardinal Matthew who was French
  • Matthew was the main focus because of his namesake and he believed in the deciple
  • Left to right: Moment of transformation and enlightmenment, middle is for the nonbelievers, and the last one is the pitty of the patron and faith
  • Reached out to the humble and the poor who were never intended to see artwork prior

Content

  • Conversion and enlightenment
  • Matthew was shocked!
  • All the men leave over counting their money
  • Grimey scene, not really a nice pub
  • Normal dress on
  • All of their wardrobes were showing how they were dressed well
  • Not legal things going on here
  • Light symbolizing Christ and renters with him
  • Far from the idealized beauty of the renaissance
  • Above Christ’s head is a halo
  • Christ is the most covered up than all the other figures
  • Hand is reminiscent of the hand of the Sistine Chapel
  • Christ’s arm follows the diagonal going to Matthew
  • St. Peter in front of Christ
    • Heavy and powerful
  • Matthew pointing at himself in disbelief
  • Light is cast upon Matthew
  • Burnini is a educational frat boy but Carravaggo was the emo version of that
    • Caravaggio had the death sentence on him because he killed a man and he basically was crazy

Context