Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Matthew, 1599-1600
Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome.
(Source)
(Source)
My friends often cite Michelangelo Merisi aka Caravaggio as their favourite artist (Hi Pooky! Hi 'elle Mischka!). Born in the north of Italy c. 1573, Caravaggio is one of those artists whom people love to read biographically through his works due to this somewhat 'interesting' life. Known for hanging out with prostitues, brawling, and being arrested and imprisoned a number of times, he fled Rome in 1606 after accusations of murder and died in 1610 after contracting a fever after being imprisoned again in Tuscany. His main patron in Rome, Cardinal del Monte, was also probably gay so Caravaggio's early work is often interpreted as homoerotic.
A Baroque artist, his work is pictorially characterised by naturalism and heightened chiaroscuro (light and dark effects), as seen in The Calling of St. Matthew. The painting shows Jesus pointing to Matthew, who is hunched at the table with the bowed head counting money. Notable things in this painting are that the figures at the table are dressed in contemporary 16th century dress whereas Jesus and co. are in robes, and Jesus' hand being a reference to Michelangelo's Creation of Adam. It is also alleged that Caravaggio used himself as a model for Matthew.
The light in this painting performs two functions. Firstly, it's a narrative tool. The light is strongest over Jesus, spreading over the characters at the table. The light hasn't quite hit Matthew yet but you get the feeling that when it does, he'll look up. Secondly when you view the painting in its setting along with its counterparts (below), you can see that Caravaggio has made the direction of light in his paintings come from the same direction as the window in the chapel.
L-R, Calling of St. Matthew, Inspiration of St. Matthew, Matyrdom of St. Matthew.
(I tried to merge these into a montage and failed epically.)
Clever.
A Baroque artist, his work is pictorially characterised by naturalism and heightened chiaroscuro (light and dark effects), as seen in The Calling of St. Matthew. The painting shows Jesus pointing to Matthew, who is hunched at the table with the bowed head counting money. Notable things in this painting are that the figures at the table are dressed in contemporary 16th century dress whereas Jesus and co. are in robes, and Jesus' hand being a reference to Michelangelo's Creation of Adam. It is also alleged that Caravaggio used himself as a model for Matthew.
The light in this painting performs two functions. Firstly, it's a narrative tool. The light is strongest over Jesus, spreading over the characters at the table. The light hasn't quite hit Matthew yet but you get the feeling that when it does, he'll look up. Secondly when you view the painting in its setting along with its counterparts (below), you can see that Caravaggio has made the direction of light in his paintings come from the same direction as the window in the chapel.
L-R, Calling of St. Matthew, Inspiration of St. Matthew, Matyrdom of St. Matthew.(I tried to merge these into a montage and failed epically.)
1 comment:
I love your arty posts Callie, I feel smarter after reading them :D
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