image taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CaravaggioContarelli.jpg
The Calling of St. Matthew by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is a painting from the Baroque period that tells the story of how Jesus inspired a tax-collector named Matthew to give up his profession and become Jesus’ disciple. In the story Jesus goes to a customs house where he sees Matthew seated at a table. Jesus goes over to Matthew and simply says, “Follow me,” and Matthew does just that. It’s a rather simple and one could say uninteresting story. Jesus says come and Matthew comes. In words alone there isn’t much passion to the story. Why there isn’t much of anything; no drama, suspense, glory, or excitement. In words alone the narrative is flat, but as a visual piece of art that has been blessed with Caravaggio's masterful use of light this flat story becomes something grand.
To see how let’s begin by noting the types of light Caravaggio uses. There is only one source of light and it seems to be originating from an offstage window. The room is otherwise cast in darkness. What is unique about this light is just how intense it is. The shadows it creates on the people’s faces and on the walls of of the room are all very sharp. There is a very clear line where the light ends and the shadow begins. The source of the light is the sun and its angle through the window helps us guess the time period. There is a window inside the scene, but no light is coming from it; thus, it is safe to say that the harsh angle of the light coming from only one window is caused by the sun being low in the sky. Thus, it is safe to say that this scene occurs either at the beginning or end of the day. The angle of the light creates a natural spotlight, illuminating the faces of the men at the end of the table and directing our eyes straight to these men making them the most important figures in the scene.
If all the things supposed in the previous paragraph are true, then a very special narrative is formed. It is the end of a very long day of tax collecting. Matthew, one of several tax-collectors, sits with friends in a custom house. He is seated at the end of a table and to his irritation the sun is spilling in from a window right onto his face. In order to protect his eyes Matthew turns his head down. He buries his nose into his money and continues counting his gatherings. A man enters the customs house. He is bathed in shadows, the angle of the light casts all but his head and upper torso in darkness. The newcomer approaches Matthew’s table and calls out. Matthew’s friend is shocked by the man’s words and points to Matthew’s bend over form. Noticing his friend’s actions and hearing the man’s call Matthew will look up from his coins and his face is bathed in a bright, blinding light like no other. All this, the setting, the mood, the symbolism of a person being brought out of darkness and into light, is revealed from just the intensity and distribution of a single offstage light source.
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