Comparison of the works of Caravaggio and of one of his followers - Essay Example

Comparison of the works of Caravaggio and of one of his followers The painting titled “Calling of St. Matthew” was created in 1600 by the Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), better known as Caravaggio. The painting has dimensions 340 cm and 322 cm, and has been drawn with oil on canvas. It is currently located at the Contarelli chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, Italy. Saint Matthew is a prominent figure in the Bible and he presumably had written the first Gospel. He was a Jewish toll collector and was very greedy and money-minded. It is believed that one day when he was working at his office in Capernaum, Jesus called him into his service. Subsequently he gave up all his material possessions and then resorted to the straight path of virtue and became one of the twelve apostles. The New Testament has a mention of the calling of Saint Matthew by Jesus. The painting by Caravaggio is based on the same tale: “... when Jesus passed on from thence, he saw a man sitting in the custom house, named Matthew; and he said to him: Follow me. And he arose up and followed him.” (The New Testament, Matthew 9:9) This painting is a depiction of this exact moment when Matthew realizes that he has been called. Though he gazes at Jesus with his eyes wide open, his finger still points at the stack of coins lying in front of him on the wooden table. He understands that it is time for him to give up his job of a tax collector and become an apostle. But he still tends to be unwilling to part with his money. This dilemma and tension going on in his mind has been skillfully captured in this painting by Caravaggio. The figure of Jesus Christ can hardly be noticed in the painting. He has been portrayed as a young man wearing very simple clothes and no shoes. The faint halo over his head is the only feature that helps an onlooker to distinguish him from the other figures around him. His posture also seems very noble and gracious, and in a way indicates his divinity by suggesting his command over the ray of light entering the room. The “Calling of St. Matthew” is a grand and multi-figured composition that can be partitioned into two sides. The figures on the left side of the painting constitute a horizontal rectangle, while the remaining two figures on the right constitute a vertical rectangular block. The basis of demarcation between the two sides of the painting is the clothing of the characters. The index of Jesus pointing at Matthew serves as a line of demarcation between the two sides of light and shadow. Another marked feature is Caravaggio's use of lighting technique or tenebrism that he used to add a dramatic element to his images. This discretionary use of light and shadow effects helped his characters to appear more natural, lively and identifiable. The artist has thrown a diagonal light from a high window across the wall over the main figures and left the rest in the shadow. This technique, known as cellar lighting, helps to highlight some of the features, emotions and actions of the protagonists in the painting. Caravaggio has filled his canvas with vivid colors and hues from his palette. He has made use of bold shades like red, green and gold; varied textures like soft fur and velvet. (Hass, 1988) The painting “Calling of St. Matthew” was originally executed upon the order of Cardinal Matteo Contarelli and was intended to adorn the left wall of the Contarelli chapel. Cardinal Matteo was fascinated by the idea of decorating the chapel with scenes from the life of Saint Matthew. Caravaggio luckily received this opportunity under the guidance of his patron Cardinal del Monte. And the resulting painting is a masterpiece in the history of both Roman and global art. Caravaggio’s artistic career came to an end with his death in 1610. But his intriguing art inspired many artists in the 17th century who contributed to the artistic movement of their times by borrowing some signature elements from Caravaggio and infusing them into their own individual styles of painting. One such follower of Caravaggio was the young Artemisia Gentileschi who was one of the few female painters of the Baroque period. The most famous work of Gentileschi was “Susanna and the Elders”. The painting was created in 1610 by the novice Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi (1593– 1652). The painting has dimensions of 170 cm and 121 cm, and has been drawn with oil on canvas. It is presently kept in the Schloss Weissenstein in Germany as a part of the private Baroque assortment of the Schonborn family. “Susanna and the Elders” was the first signed and dated work of Artemisia Gentileschi. In the painting, Susanna is a character derived from the Bible. She is presented as a woman who is being sexually harassed by two men. The two men, after having been rejected by her, falsely blame her for adultery. This conflict between the woman and the two men has been vividly and realistically conveyed in this painting. In terms of stylistic elements, Artemisia draws a lot from Caravaggio. The accuracy of the human anatomy, the chiaroscuro effect, the use of advanced colours and rich textures are some of the features that we find in almost all of Caravaggio’s works. The only difference lies in the fact that Artemisia attempted to present the situation from a woman’s perspective by delineating the emotions of fear, vulnerability and repulsion in Susanna, as opposed to the conventional associations of shyness and playfulness with Susanna in the popular folklore. (Christiansen, 2004) The heroines in most of her paintings have been portrayed as victims of rape. Her works echo the artist’s personal experience of having been raped at the age of seventeen by her own painting tutor Agostino Tassi and the subsequent social humiliation she had to face. Artemisia Gentileschi flourished as a painter in an age when female painters were primarily engaged in the realms of portrait paintings and devotional paintings. She broke the prevailing tradition of the Baroque age and delved into the sphere of religious and historical painting. Owing to the overwhelming realism in her paintings, she is often regarded as one of the most accomplished painters of the Baroque era and one of the most cherished followers of the great Caravaggio. References: Challoner, R. (1847). The New Testament, Translated from the Latin Vulgate. Richardson & Son. Christiansen, K. (2004). Becoming Artemisia: Afterthoughts on the Gentileschi Exhibition. Metropolitan Museum Journal, 39(1), 101-126. Hass, A. (1988). Caravaggio's Calling of St Matthew Reconsidered. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 245-250. Read More