San Luigi dei Francesi

The church of San Luigi dei Francesi, located in the Piazza of the same name, is the official French church in Rome. It is known for holding three famous paintings by the artist Caravaggio. These were his first three religious works, painted between 1597 and 1602, all depicting the subject of St. Matthew. The Calling of St. Matthew, the Martyrdom of St. Matthew, and St. Matthew and the Angel all hang in the fifth chapel on the left in the church, called the Contarelli Chapel. Cardinal Contarelli left an endowment and specific instructions for the decoration of this chapel. Though the Cardinal died in 1585, Caravaggio was not contracted to do the paintings until 1599. The artist Giuseppe Cesari was the first choice of the church to complete the paintings, but when he got tied up in other Papal commissions, Cardinal Del Monte, who was in charge of the money, suggested Caravaggio.

(The Calling of St. Matthew, http://virgo.bibl.u-szeged.hu/wm/paint/auth/caravaggio/calling/calling.jpg)

The Calling of St. Matthew, recognized as the most famous of the three works, depicts the Biblical story when Jesus, seeing the tax-collector Matthew at work, pointed to him and said “follow me”, and Matthew rose and followed him. Jesus’ hand in this painting resembles the hand in the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.

(The Martyrdom of St. Matthew, http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/figures/st-matthew-martyr.jpg)

In all three paintings, Caravaggio uses dramatic chiaroscuro, or contrast between light and dark, to accentuate the dramatic nature of the subjects and highlight important parts of the painting.