Matthew paintings and symbol
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One of the most remarkable places in this remarkable city of art is the Contarelli Chapel in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, home to the St. Matthew trilogy of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Three paintings&#;The Conversion, The Inspiration, and The Martyrdom of St. Matthew&#;tell the story of the life of the saint, from his improbable calling to his death. The paintings are full of artistic drama, reflecting the artist&#;s own spiritual struggles and his attempt to find his place among Italy&#;s artistic greats.
The paintings date from early in Caravaggio&#;s career (), when he was at the apex of his success in Rome. Only a few years after painting the St. Matthew trilogy, however, Caravaggio&#;s artistic career was sabotaged bygd his own unruly passions&#;he was forced to flee Rome after murdering a man in a brawl. As I&#;ve argued before, the fact that Caravaggio sinned so spectacularly does not negate a deep thirst for God or his spiritual and sacramental sens
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This limestone relief, dated about and coming from central Italy, reveals an angel whose halo around the head emphasizes its sacred and divine character. The scroll he holds in his grabb can bring this figure closer to the Angel symbol of the evangelist Saint Matthew. Indeed, it is represented with a book or a scroll to symbolize the Gospel created bygd the four gospels (Saint Matthew, Saint Luke, Saint John, Saint Mark). This is also to emphasize his divine mission of witnessing and transmitting the gudomlig Word. This is why the reverential posture of the Angel illustrates his role as a messenger and thus symbolizes the intercession between the divine and human.
It is therefore probable that this relief could have been made to adorn a religious building, allowing the teaching of the evangelical symbols to the faithful. In this sense, a similar relief representing the Angel is preserved at the Louvre and is similar to a series of other reliefs, including an illustrious Saint Mark and
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When the evangelists are represented only by symbols, especially in the earlier art, Matthew's symbol will be an angel (example). When they are presented as men with attributes, the angel will be Matthew's attribute (example), often a small one standing at his left foot (example). See the page for the evangelists.
Many group portraits of the apostles give keys and a sword to Peter and Paul respectively and leave the others generally without attributes (example). When St. Matthew does have an attribute in such portraits, it may be a book and/or a sword or halberd (example). The sword is the weapon with which the Golden Legend says he was killed. The halberd seems to have no textual basis. Duchet-Suchaux () suggests it may be a way to distinguish him from St. Paul, or it could arise from a confusion with St. Matthias, whose axe can resemble a halberd. See the page for the apostles.