View Page: Shedding Light on Caravaggio

	Shedding Light on Caravaggio
	written by kelih / 09.28.2004

Section Six

6 of 7

Personal Observations

www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/caravagg/04/26conta.html

St. Matthew and the Angel

This is the first version of St. Matthew and the Angel, which was later taken to Berlin and destroyed in WWII.

I was surprised to find that in both the Contarelli Chapel and the Cerasi Chapel that many of the first versions of Caravaggio's paintings were rejected. It shocked me that a painting by a master such as Caravaggio would be rejected, especially when he was continually commissioned, even throughout his exile from Rome.
The most intriguing part of my research consisted of the comparison between the two St. Matthew and the Angel paintings. I personally found the first painting to be more appealing and emotional, and was thus very interested in the reasons for its dismissal. It seems strange that the priests rejected it due to the indecorous figure of St. Matthew, seemingly represented as low class and illiterate. To me, the figure of St. Matthew seemed wise with age, and his pose was neutral. I was not offended by it at all. It was also very interesting to compare it to the painting that was accepted, especially to compare the different representation of St. Matthew as well as a completely different composition. In the first St. Matthew, there is debate on whether the figure, considered to be a socratic figure, is that of St. Filippo. This is due to St. Filippo's image as the Christian Socrates, as well as the extremely different portrayal of St. Matthew in Caravaggio's other two paintings on the lateral walls. The figures of St. Matthew in these two paintings are similar to each other. In the final version of this piece, Caravaggio goes back to this representation, making St. Matthew look similar to the other two paintings.

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