Why did the customer not accept the first version of St. Matthew and the Angel from Caravaggio, and What has changed in the remake

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was born half a century after the counter-reformation of Luther King. A few years before the artist's birth, the Catholic Church convened the final session of the Council of Trent and established new rules for religious imagery. When addressing the saints and using sacred images, every superstition must be eliminated, all filthy essence must be abolished. However, his work "Saint Matthew and the Angel" did not fit into the canons of the new rules. What caused the scandal? And what did the second version of the sacred plot of Caravaggio look like?

About the master

He was born in Caravaggio, near Bergamo. His father was a bricklayer, and for 4 years Caravaggio himself earned his bread as a bricklayer. Without visiting any academy, Caravaggio learned to use a brush and paints, and entered the service of the noble gentleman Arpino in Rome as a lackey.

In Rome, Caravaggio's talent was discovered by the artist Prospero, who traded in works of art. He then began to order the first work from the young painter. One of the completed paintings by Caravaggio was acquired by Cardinal del Monte, who was a key player in the promotion of the young artist. Even dad orders him his portrait.

Orders from the Church and the Counter-Reformation

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was born half a century after the counter-reformation of Luther King. With his art, he made a great contribution to the new Roman Catholic desire to resist Protestants and confirmed the importance of religious images in Christianity. Several years before the artist was born, the Catholic Church convened the final session of the Council of Trent and established new rules for religious imagery.

When addressing the saints and using sacred images, every superstition must be eliminated, all filthy essence must be abolished. Finally, one should avoid all depravity, perversion and drunkenness, as well as the depiction of the saints in luxury and wealth. Thus, the excessive idealization of the sacred subjects of the Renaissance gave way to naturalism. To this end, Caravaggio tried to emphasize the humanity, naturalism and humble nature of Jesus and the saints. To try to relate the past to the real canons, Caravaggio placed Jesus or the saints, often in naturalistic conditions, completely removed from the previously familiar images.

Saint Matthew and the Angel

Caravaggio began to receive orders from churches. One of these orders was the work "Saint Matthew and the Angel", which is associated with many interesting stories.

His "Saint Matthew" is portrayed as a humble man, wrinkled and a poor old Roman. Caravaggio depicted him dressed in Roman clothing from the late 16th century, in a dirty Roman house with dirty windows. And while this seems to fit the Church's new strict rules for religious art, it looks like they weren't fully prepared for what Caravaggio presented.

What do we see in this work? Matthew's hand is busy writing the very first words about the life of Jesus - the Gospel of Matthew was considered the first at that time. And Matthew is depicted so amazed at the miracle taking place that he cannot control his actions without the guiding hand of an angel. Astonishment and shock perfectly convey the huge eyes of the saint and the raised forehead. Very honest and realistic! An angel with concentration leads the hand of an illiterate saint, creating the first story about the life of the Savior. We can even imagine how letters slowly and wonderfully fold into words, and words into sentences, guided by a patient angel teacher. The saint's clothing exposes his dirty feet, the artist carefully rendered even the dirty nails of Matthew. Caravaggio portrayed the saint as naturally and humanly as possible.

And for this reason, the church censored the painting, and a scandal ensued.

Scandal and rejection

Caravaggio was indignant. The scandal and damaged reputation greatly alarmed Caravaggio. When the painting with Saint Matthew and the angel was completed and placed on the altar, it was taken by the priests, who said that the figure with legs crossed and roughly exposed in front of the public had neither decency nor the appearance of a saint. What can we say about the dirty feet of the saint! Yes, in reproducing scenes of martyrdom, Caravaggio does not resort to idealized retouching. His Saint is a man with dirty feet. It is not surprising that later, due to the critical realism in sacred scenes and the non-standard expression of scenes from the Bible, Caravaggio was proclaimed an apostle of ugliness. His works seemed to be a sin against the holy spirit of art. He became known as the "dirty feet artist". Giovanni Baglione, an artist of late mannerism and baroque in Rome, called Caravaggio the destroyer of art, the antichrist of painting. People were shocked by what they saw "Saint Matthew and the Angel", for them the picture was an absolute disrespect for the saint. The painting was not accepted and Caravaggio had to try again. This time, he did not take risks and adhered to generally accepted ideas about how an angel and a saint should look. The result, of course, turned out to be less naturalistic. And most importantly, the second version of the sacred plot was not as honest and sincere as the first. But he was accepted by the church.

Second version of St. Matthew

So, Caravaggio still prepared the second option. The master's realism still seeps through this canvas. But it is certainly in many ways inferior to the first variation. Matthew in the picture does not look like a character close to the common people. This is already a hero, reminiscent of an ancient philosopher, in luxurious flowing red robes (red here is the color of respect, respectability, wealth). He no longer has this masterful shock, amazement at the miracle that happened, as on the face of Matthew in the first work. In this version, Matthew is depicted as if in a movie: he already knows the script, he was preparing for the current situation. The angel is depicted in this version in the shadow, he is not a teacher-mentor and not an assistant, he is ABOVE the saint. He dictates the words to him, and Matthew has to write under the dictation. Strictly and canonically. The saint writes himself, without the help of an angel, his legs are directed forward, so as not to suddenly cause possible insults. And, most surprisingly, the depicted Saint Matthew has a halo - a sign of divinity. He is no longer associated with ordinary people. This version of St. Matthew, with all his errors and distortions, fully reflects the canons of the Catholic counter-reformation.

Despite the new strict rules regarding religious imagery, established by the Council in Trent, the Church still could not let go of what it considered to be a "manifestation of a saint." For her, there should still be no threat of censorship and scandal. The Church of San Luigi dei Francesi (where the painting "Saint Matthew and the Angel" was located) still believed that images of saints should retain an element of divinity. Something that would distinguish them from ordinary people. Any deviation, any attempt to suggest a connection between the common people and the saints was still not acceptable. Caravaggio was somewhat limited by ideology. That is why the first attempt by Caravaggio to realistically portray the holy apostle could not penetrate the ideals of the Church and was censored.