The Calling of St. Matthew

painting by Caravaggio

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June 22, 2026

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"The Calling of St. Matthew" is a painting by Caravaggio completed in 1599-1600 for the Contarelli Chapel in Rome. It depicts the moment Jesus Christ calls Matthew, a tax collector, to become one of his apostles. Caravaggio set this biblical scene in a contemporary, dimly lit tax collector's office, with Christ and Saint Peter in timeless robes encountering Matthew and other figures in modern attire. A strong beam of light cuts diagonally across the composition, symbolizing divine intervention and Matthew's spiritual awakening. This work, along with "The Martyrdom of St. Matthew," established Caravaggio's reputation for dramatic realism and innovative use of light and shadow, known as tenebrism.1

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Caravaggio
The Contarelli Chapel and other church commissions of Caravaggio
The subjects prescribed were The Calling of St. Matthew and The Martyrdom of St. Matthew. Caravaggio used his by-now-established method, setting both episodes in the present day and painting directly from live models posed in mise-en-scènes of his own devising. He set the subject of Christ calling Matthew, the…
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The subjects prescribed were The Calling of St. Matthew and The Martyrdom of St. Matthew. Caravaggio used his by-now-established method, setting both episodes in the present day and painting directly from live models posed in mise-en-scènes of his own devising. He set the subject of Christ calling Matthew, the…
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Hendrik Terbrugghen
His two versions of the Calling of St. Matthew (c. 1617 and 1621) reflect a knowledge of Caravaggio’s painting of the same subject at the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome.
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His two versions of the Calling of St. Matthew (c. 1617 and 1621) reflect a knowledge of Caravaggio’s painting of the same subject at the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome.
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