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Taylor Huston

GN_HON 2113: The Early Modern World

Bowers

October 1, 2014

Caravaggio – “The Calling of Saint Matthew” Analysis

The well-known artist Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, played a key role in

shaping seventeenth century Italian art and was largely responsible for the popularity of the

baroque style. The painting “Calling of Saint Matthew” typifies this. This painting was

completed in 1600 and was one of the earlier works done by Caravaggio. It was created for the

Contarelli Chapel in San Luigi del Francesi in Rome. It was commissioned by Cardinal Matteo

Contarelli who wanted to decorate his chapel with scenes from the life of Saint Matthew who

was his namesake. The painting was originally done of canvas with oil and stood about 11.2 feet

tall and 10.6 feet wide. When analyzing this masterpiece, I think it would be beneficial to

understand what was happening during the 1600’s in Italy and Europe, then look at the painting

itself and consider how this relates to the time period, and lastly what effects Caravaggio and this

work had on shaping the Baroque movement and how it influenced other artists.

First, I would like to examine the background of the seventeenth century in Europe. This

was a period of great political and social change. Some of the major events that happened

throughout this time period were the Thirty Year’s War, the Reformation movement as well as

the Counter-Reformation, the Eighty Year’s War, and many others. This era was one of, as Peter

Burke described in his article The Crisis in the Arts of the Seventeenth Century: A Crisis of

Representation? “…the expression of an emotional, unbalanced, sensibility or mentality…as a

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response to the ‘social crisis’ between 1590 and 1640,” (242). This shows how this led to the

characterization of the Baroque movement because it is described as being irregular and

asymmetrical.

One of the most important aspects of this period of change was the conflict and evolution

of the Christian faith. The Catholic Church was feeling threatened by the protestants as they were

losing members and also several of the leaders in Europe were converting and leaving the

Church. To counteract this, the church became aggressively involved in the everyday lives of

their members during the Counter-Reformation. One example of this was in formal education;

education in the seventeenth-century was characterized by the catholic views taught through the

church schools. This taught the students the catholic views from a young age which made sure of

the catholic supremacy for future generations (Sangalli). The idea behind this was to make

Catholicism continuously present and in the forefront of their members’ minds to prevent

conversions and encourage non-members to join their faith.  

This brings me to how the Church used beautiful sculpture, art, and architecture as

propaganda to influence their members and entice others to join their faith. Cardinals and other

church officials had these works commissioned in order to show the magnificence and

prevalence of their Church. This is supported by Katherine Aron-Beller’s article titled The

Inquisition, Professing Jews, And Christian Images In Seventeenth-Century Modena, “In

seventeenth-century Italy, Christian relics and images were scattered through urban spaces, not

only because the faithful were expected to acknowledge and touch them, but because their

moving through city streets in processions celebrated communitas, the sense of belonging that

was so much part of early modern civic existence,” (575). Another reason that the Church
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wanted such magnificent works was so that the viewer would be entranced and overwhelmed by

the power of the experience depicted in many of the works.

Caravaggio used this technique in his painting “The Calling of Saint Matthew” in order to

influence his viewers and create a desire in them to experience a similarly intense religious

experience. One of the methods that Caravaggio used in this work to create the effect was his use

of tenebrism. This was a technique characterized by violent contrasts of light and dark where one

or more objects are strongly illuminated, often from one source of light. Here, Caravaggio

illuminates the face of Saint Matthew while he is being summoned by Christ. Fred Kilner gives a

brief description of the scene being depicted by Caravaggio in Gardener’s Art through the Ages,

“Into this mundane environment, cloaked in mysterious shadow and almost unseen, Christ,

identifiable initially only by his indistinct halo, enters from the right. With a commanding

gesture, he summons Levi, the Roman tax collector, to a higher calling. The astonished Levi—

his face highlighted for the viewer by the beam of light emanating from an unspecified source

above Christ’s head and outside the picture—points to himself in disbelief,” (681).

This contrast between shadow and light serves two purposes in Caravaggio’s painting.

First, it dramatizes the scene and immediately attracts the viewer’s attention to Saint Matthew (or

Levi). It is only after observing Matthew that the viewer notices the men surrounding him and

through the direction of their gazes, look to see Christ and Saint Peter on the right. This gives the

viewer a clear sense of where to direct their gaze. Another important effect of the illumination of

Saint Matthew is that it gives a sense of a powerful religious experience. As a tax collector in

Rome, Levi was believed to be living in sin as that profession was seen as obsessed with wealth

and money. The light source, though it does not touch Christ directly, can be seen as a heavenly

light, or one that enlightens Levi and allows him to convert to Catholicism and gain knowledge
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of the evil of his former life. The light shines directly into the group of tax collectors, but focuses

on Levi making the viewer clearly understand that although it touches the others, he alone is

experiencing this conversion. This is done by Caravaggio in order to entice the viewer, as stated

earlier. It allows the viewer to participate in Saint Matthew’s conversion and feel that they also

want to experience something as powerful as this. This technique using light reminds me of the

sculpture Saint Theresa in Ecstasy created by Gianlorenzo Bernini in the Conaro Chapel. Behind

the sculpture itself, is a window that lights the backdrop, creating an almost hallucinatory

experience for the viewer. In this instance as well as the painting by Caravaggio, the viewer is

overwhelmed by the magnificence and intensity of the religious experience that the subjects are

experiencing which is meant to strengthen their faith in the Catholic Church.

Caravaggio uses contrast in this painting not only as light and dark but for color as well.

When looking at the point in the painting where the light is the strongest, the viewer can see that

the color of the walls in the room where Saint Matthew and the other men are sitting are a

tan/brown color. This neutral color serves to emphasize the bright colors of the clothes that the

men are wearing as well as the facial expressions of everyone in the room. Caravaggio uses rich,

vibrant colors to depict the men’s apparel. I believe that this is done for multiple reasons. First,

for a greater sense of realism. These men were tax collectors, meaning that they were believed to

be obsessed with wealth and money, and would therefore wear fine clothes. The rich colors used

by Caravaggio gives off a sense of extravagance. Another reason this contrasts exists in the

painting is to emphasize the facial expressions of the men, specifically of Saint Matthew. The

neutral background makes Matthew’s look of surprise and disbelief appear more dramatic.

Michael Douma discusses how Caravaggio achieved this contrast in color, he "’put

the oscuro (shadows) into chiaroscuro’ Chiaroscuro was practiced long before he came on the
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scene, but it was Caravaggio who made the technique definitive, darkening the shadows and

transfixing the subject in a blinding shaft of light. He achieved this effect with a limited palette:

ochre (red, yellow, umber), a few mineral pigments (vermilion, lead tin yellow, lead white),

organic carbon black, and copper resinate. Earths and ochre predominated, and brighter colors

were always veiled.”

This painting, The Calling of Saint Matthew, exemplified Caravaggio’s talent and style.

Not only was this a classic Baroque style painting, it had a strong influence on Baroque style

works that came after it. The most notable influence Caravaggio had on future works was a new

technique known as caravaggism. This technique used a high level of realism and intense

contrasts between light and dark. This is most noticeable in his paintings with his use of neutral

backgrounds, often solid black. This emphasized the subjects in his works as well as the rich

colors, creating a dramatic effect that was common in the Baroque era. Some other artists that

used caravaggism included Orazio Gentileschi, Artemisia Gentileschi, and the Spaniard José de

Ribera.

In conclusion, The Calling of Saint Matthew, exemplifies the style that the well-known

artist Caravaggio used throughout the Baroque Era. The Catholic Church used his works as a

medium for propaganda during a time where the Catholic Counter-Reformation was taking

place. His use of contrast in both light and darkness as well as in color allowed the viewer to

participate in a rich experience that was meant to strengthen their faith in Catholicism. His

techniques helped shape and define the Baroque movement through his popularity during this

time period as well as his influence on other artists.

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Works Cited

Aron-Beller, Katherine. "The Inquisition, Professing Jews, And Christian Images in

Seventeenth-Century Modena." Church History 81.3 (2012): 575-600. Academic Search

Complete. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.

"Baroque." Baroque. N.p., n.d. Web Image. 30 Sept. 2014.

Burke, Peter. "The Crisis in the Arts of the Seventeenth Century: A Crisis of

Representation?" Journal of Interdisciplinary History 40.2 (2009): 239-261.Academic

Search Complete. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.

Douma, Michael, Curator. Pigments through the Ages. 2008. Institute for Dynamic Educational

Development. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.

Kleiner, Fred. "The Baroque in Italy and Spain." Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global

History. 14thB ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2005. 668-693. Print.

Sangalli, Maurizio. "Colleges, Schools, Teachers: Between Church and State in Northern Italy

(Xvi-Xvii Centuries)." Catholic Historical Review 93.4 (2007): 815-844. Academic

Search Complete. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.