The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew
Recently I've been asked to make and description on this Caravaggio's (Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio) works and to give my opinion about it.
I did learned about it earlier sometime but while trying to help a friend in a need since she has the test for a few days and she would like me to tell her rather than read in some old books with numerous pages I remembered of it and came to some other and to me whole new conclusions.
Saint Matthew is about to die of hand of young soldier send by an insane Ethiopian king.
The x-rays and Caravaggio's style is well known to everyone.He was an true artist of Baroque period.
Well known chiaroscuro is invented by him.We can see it here too.
The thing about the composition is clear.
Caravaggio didn't like the architecture itself that much.So he didn't put too much of an architectural form in his pieces.
Wee can only see the dark floor, a few stairs and a piece of altar.
The one and only thing that catches our eye is the scene.
So here are the new things that I didn't think about before!
Saint Matthew is not terrified as we should expect him to be.He doesn't look at the killer at all.His eyes are at the angel who holds a palm of martyrdorm. The hands of an angel and the executioner are paralleled.So the artist gives us a small piece of the future happenings.When the killer pulls Saint Matthew hand to execute him by pulling his sword in his chests, Sain Matthew will be able to touch angels palm.The gift of divine.
So what Caravaggio didn't want to show us is a murder scene where everyone are terrified.The faces of the ppl around are different.The boy is in the gratest shock since he is still a child.Other look more confused and surprised.
The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew is just about a Saint that is happy to recieve a gift from God.
Executioner is just showed him his way to reach the Heaven.
Amazing.