Baroque Blog

 Baroque Blog


    For the baroque blog post I decided to pick a painting by Caravaggio called The Calling of Saint Matthew. This painting was created in 1599-1600 and it is an oil painting on canvas. The painting was is currently in San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome. This painting depicts the moment when Jesus Christ inspired Matthew to follow him. It depicts the story from the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus saw a man named Matthew in custom house and said to him, "Follow me", and Matthew got up from his seat and followed him. In this masterpiece Caravaggio depicts that Jesus Christ and Saint Peter have walked in the room, and Jesus is pointing at Matthew who is at a table with other men. 
    In this painting it seems to me that Jesus Christ is the one bringing in the light to the dark room. I think that it shows the power of Jesus is really shown in this artwork because he is effortlessly pointing at pointing at Matthew and there is a light beam following his gesture. I also like the contrast of the simplicity of Jesus Christ and Saint Peter in comparison to Matthew and the accountants. Jesus is barefoot and the accountants are dressed fancy and I think that it is a great way to show contrast. I think that in this painting refers to the expansion of scientific knowledge as mentioned in the article on artble.com and artsy.net. This painting is a great example of chiaroscuro technique which shows an effect of contrasted light and shadow. This is a way of painting contrast made lasting impressions on generations of artists.
    When looking at this painting it makes me feel the power of Jesus Christ as he can lead a person into following him with just one pointing motion. I like the presentation of this painting and the contrast it shows between how people are dressed. I would not want a copy of this painting because I cannot relate to it as much as other people could. I think that it is a great artwork, but it is not one that I would like to own because don't relate to the backstory of this painting. 

Sources Cited:

“The Calling of Saint Matthew.” Artble, 19 July 2017, https://www.artble.com/artists/caravaggio/paintings/the_calling_of_saint_matthew.

“Michelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio: The Calling of St Matthew (1599-1600).” Artsy, https://www.artsy.net/artwork/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio-the-calling-of-st-matthew.

   

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