Contarelli Chapel

Coordinates: 41°53′58″N 12°28′29″E / 41.89944°N 12.47472°E / 41.89944; 12.47472
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Calling of Saint Matthew
, Caravaggio, 1599-1600

The Contarelli Chapel or Cappella Contarelli is located within the church of

Saint Matthew the Evangelist by the Baroque master Caravaggio.[1][2] The paintings were Caravaggio's first major public commission and one that cemented his reputation as a master artist. The chapel commemorates the French cardinal Matthieu Cointerel
.

History

The chapel owes its existence to an endowment left by the French cardinal, Matthieu Cointerel (Contarelli in Italian), who died in 1585. He left instructions for the decoration of the chapel, the first one to the left of the

Matthew the Evangelist
.

Cointerel's executor, Virglio Cresenzi, commissioned a Flemish sculptor, Jacques Cobaert, to make a marble statue of Matthew and an angel for the altar. Giuseppe Cesari, then one of the foremost artists in Rome, was contracted to fresco the two side walls and the vault. The details were clearly set out in the contract—Cobaert's altarpiece would show Matthew sitting in a chair, about to write the Gospel, with an angel standing and "appearing to reason or in other suitable pose." Cesari's side walls would show, on the right, Saint Matthew in his counting house (Matthew was a tax collector before becoming an apostle of Christ), suitably dressed, rising "to go to Our Lord, who, passing by with his disciples in the street, calls him...". And on the left, Matthew at the moment of his martyrdom, celebrating Mass at the altar, with "a crowd of men and women, young and old and children...some appalled and others pitying...".

Artworks

The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio, 1599-1600
The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio, 1599-1600

Cesari finished the vault by 1593, but then became occupied with papal commissions; Cobaert produced a statue that was rejected, in part because it represented the Apostle without the traditional angel. This statue was later bought by the Archconfraternity of the Santissima Trinita` dei Pellegrini and placed in the chapel dedicated to their patron. In 1597, the money for the project was transferred to the Fabbrica di San Pietro, which administered the Church's buildings, yet producing no result. In 1599, preparations began for a

Francesco Maria Del Monte
, suggested that his own personal painter, Caravaggio, should be contracted to paint oils on canvas for the two side walls where Cesari would not put his murals.

The contract with Caravaggio was signed on 23 July 1599. Despite disagreements over the composition of the second painting, Caravaggio's

The Calling of Saint Matthew and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew were installed by July 1600. When Cobaert delivered his statues, the churchmen rejected them, and then commissioned Caravaggio to do another painting for the altarpiece, still following the Cardinal's original instructions. The third and final work, The Inspiration of Saint Matthew
, was in place by 1602.

Paintings in situ

Caravaggio's solution to decorating a typically gloomy Roman church interior has been deemed noteworthy. Visitors to the Contarelli Chapel today are confronted with paintings that use the gloom for effect. Caravaggio also considered the lighting in the chapel, as each of the two side paintings are lit by a beam coming from the only source of natural light. The decorative cycle began with the painting on the left side of the chapel, invisible to the viewer when first entering the church. It is a large panel of the

St. Peter look directly at a seated Matthew, and Jesus points at Matthew, "Calling". His hand references the receiving hand of Adam in the Creation of Adam panel on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Matthew and his companions, in contrast, are wearing robes concurrent with Caravaggio's time.[4]

External videos
video icon Smarthistory - Caravaggio's paintings in the Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi
video icon Smarthistory - Caravaggio's Calling of Saint Matthew

On the right side of the wall is the

Mannerist
style. The Cesari fresco was finished in c. 1593, at which point Caravaggio was working for Cesari.

References

  1. ^ "Where to see Caravaggio's paintings in Rome". Spectator Life. January 31, 2020. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  2. ^ Trend, Nick. "On the trail of the drinking, whoring, brawling - and brilliant - Caravaggio". The Telegraph.
  3. JSTOR 870607
    .
  4. ^ "Caravaggio's Calling of Saint Matthew". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  5. ^ "Caravaggio's paintings in the Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2012.

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome.

41°53′58″N 12°28′29″E / 41.89944°N 12.47472°E / 41.89944; 12.47472

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