First, we see St. Matthew (c. 816–835 A.D.) by an unknown Carolingian
artist. St. Matthew is seated, writing his Gospel. Where is his symbol, the
angel? Matthew is situated in a landscape—some plants are at his feet, and
there is a hill behind him, crowned by some trees and a church-like structure.
On the right side stands the angel, holding a
scroll that unwinds in St. Matthew’s direction.
The visual connection—the related shapes—of
that scroll and St. Matthew’s ink horn is the
artist’s way of suggesting the divine inspiration
or dictation that directs Matthew’s writing.
But the small painting does much more than
show us Matthew writing his Gospel while
the angel inspires him. The artist has also tried
to understand the saint’s state of mind while
writing and to convey that state of mind to us in his picture—that is the
artist’s interpretation. The artist has imagined that St. Matthew urgently
wanted to pass on the “good news” to his readers; thus, he devises a style
to express this idea. The style is intensely linear, and the lines of the saint’s
robe are crisp, curvilinear, insistently repetitive, and densely packed—full
of energy. In his concentration, St. Matthew hunches over his writing table,
and the curved lines of the hill behind him echo and reinforce this posture
and its meaning.
We often look ¿ rst to the human face for emotional cues, and we ¿ nd them
here. St. Matthew’s eyebrows are raised in concentration; his eyes are open
wide. His hair is not merely curly, but the curls snap with the same intensity
found in the folds of his robe.
Almost 800 years later, the Italian painter Caravaggio painted the same
subject—twice in fact. We see his ¿ rst version, St. Matthew and the Angel
(c. 1600–1601, destroyed). How did Caravaggio imagine his St. Matthew?
He imagined that St. Matthew was not merely unlearned but seemingly
illiterate. We see that the angel is not just dictating but guiding the saint’s
hand. The strain of the task is apparent in St. Matthew’s furrowed brow, his
brawny forearm, and his tensely crossed legs. His whole body is focused on
the mental challenge and is in complete contrast to the casual, curved pose
[A]rt is important,
something that
when properly seen
and considered and
felt, can change our
lives for the better.