Caravaggio's Inspiration of Saint Matthew: A Lesson in Penance
Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
Relatively unknown at the time, an early-Baroque painter named Michelangelo Merisi received his first public commission to adorn the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi, the French National Church in Rome. The high-profile project launched this Lombard artist, now, better known as Caravaggio, to fame. Two lateral paintings, The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599-1600), The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599-1600), and an altarpiece, Saint Matthew and the Angel (1602), which was rejected by church officials, have been thoroughly analyzed by historians. The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, painted to replace the first altarpiece, has garnered scant critical attention. In fact, typically, historians address it only briefly, treating it as a foil to better understand the rejection of its predecessor. However, an examination of the iconography of this second version (which is still in situ) reveals how the communication of a major objective of the post-Tridentine Catholic Church may be discerned by a singular detail: the stool. As a cipher for sin, the stool is the key to understanding that Inspiration conveys to believers and heretics alike the magnitude of the Catholic Sacrament of Penance, positioning it squarely within the context of Caravaggio’s established program for the Contarelli Chapel and at odds with the Protestant notion of justification.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Anne H. Muraoka
College Affiliation
College of Arts & Letters
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Disciplines
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture
Session Title
Art History 2: New Research Commemorating the 450th Anniversary of Caravaggio's Birth
Location
Zoom
Start Date
3-19-2022 2:15 PM
End Date
3-19-2022 3:15 PM
Caravaggio's Inspiration of Saint Matthew: A Lesson in Penance
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Relatively unknown at the time, an early-Baroque painter named Michelangelo Merisi received his first public commission to adorn the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi, the French National Church in Rome. The high-profile project launched this Lombard artist, now, better known as Caravaggio, to fame. Two lateral paintings, The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599-1600), The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599-1600), and an altarpiece, Saint Matthew and the Angel (1602), which was rejected by church officials, have been thoroughly analyzed by historians. The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, painted to replace the first altarpiece, has garnered scant critical attention. In fact, typically, historians address it only briefly, treating it as a foil to better understand the rejection of its predecessor. However, an examination of the iconography of this second version (which is still in situ) reveals how the communication of a major objective of the post-Tridentine Catholic Church may be discerned by a singular detail: the stool. As a cipher for sin, the stool is the key to understanding that Inspiration conveys to believers and heretics alike the magnitude of the Catholic Sacrament of Penance, positioning it squarely within the context of Caravaggio’s established program for the Contarelli Chapel and at odds with the Protestant notion of justification.