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The Calling of Saint Matthew
Caravaggio
A church painting of near-square scale that has hung in the same chapel for four centuries.
- Artist
- Caravaggio
- Date
- 1599–1600
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 322 × 340 cm
- Location
- San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome
History
What the record shows
Caravaggio's first major public commission, and the painting that established the theatrical light of the Baroque.
It remains in the Contarelli Chapel, lit on a coin-operated timer; loans are exceptional and require the chapel wall to be closed.
Provenance
Chain of ownership
- 01Commissioned for the Contarelli Chapel, 1599
- 02San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, since 1600
