![Michelangelo Caravaggio 040](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Michelangelo_Caravaggio_040.jpg)
The Contarelli Chapel or Cappella Contarelli is located within the church of
San Luigi dei Francesi
The Church of St. Louis of the French ( it, San Luigi dei Francesi, french: Saint Louis des Français, la, S. Ludovici Francorum de Urbe) is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, not far from Piazza Navona. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. It is famous for housing three paintings on the theme of
Saint Matthew
Matthew the Apostle,, shortened to ''Matti'' (whence ar, مَتَّى, Mattā), meaning "Gift of YHWH"; arc, , Mattai; grc-koi, Μαθθαῖος, ''Maththaîos'' or , ''Matthaîos''; cop, ⲙⲁⲧⲑⲉⲟⲥ, Mattheos; la, Matthaeus a ...
the Evangelist by the
Baroque master
Caravaggio.
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
Matthieu Cointerel (Morannes''Répertoire historique et archéologique de l'Anjou'' Page 138 Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts d'Angers. Commission archéologique de Maine et Loire - 1861 "Matthieu Cointerel est-il né à Morannes? tel ...
.
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
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
, which he had purchased within San Luigi dei Francesi ("Saint Louis of the French"), the church of the French community in Rome in 1565.
The cardinal was rich and he had already paid for part of the construction of the church facade. He put a large sum towards the high altar and specified that his chapel be decorated with scenes from the life of his name-saint,
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
Giuseppe Cesari (14 February 1568 – 3 July 1640) was an Italian Mannerist painter, also named Il Giuseppino and called ''Cavaliere d'Arpino'', because he was created ''Cavaliere di Cristo'' by his patron Pope Clement VIII. He was much patronize ...
, 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
A counting house, or counting room, was traditionally an office in which the financial books of a business were kept. It was also the place that the business received appointments and correspondence relating to demands for payment.
As the use of ...
(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 Inspiration of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/The_Inspiration_of_Saint_Matthew_by_Caravaggio.jpg)
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
Jubilee
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
. "France...is not yet suffiently cleansed from the thorns and weeds of heresy and corruption," the Pope had told his French bishops. The new French king,
Henry IV, had recently converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, but much remained to be done. Conversion was to be the Pope's theme with regard to France. Alarmed by the fact that Rome would be overrun with French pilgrims, the prefect in charge of the Fabricca, and of the money, Cardinal
Francesco Maria Del Monte
Francesco Maria del Monte, full name Francesco Maria Bourbon del Monte Santa Maria, (5 July 1549 – 27 August 1627) was an Italian Cardinal, diplomat, and connoisseur of the arts. His fame today rests on his early patronage of the important Bar ...
, 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
''The Inspiration of Saint Matthew'' (1602) is a painting by the Italy, Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Commissioned by the French Cardinal Matteo Contarelli, the canvas hangs in Contarelli chapel altar in t ...
'', was in place by 1602.
![Chiesa di San Luigi dei francesi, cappella Contarelli](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Chiesa_di_San_Luigi_dei_francesi%2C_cappella_Contarelli.jpg)
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
''Calling of St. Matthew'', one of Caravaggio's most well-known works. On the right of the composition,
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
and
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
The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its nam ...
. Matthew and his companions, in contrast, are wearing robes concurrent with Caravaggio's time.
On the right side of the wall is the
''Martyrdom of St. Matthew'', depicting the scene in which Matthew meets his end.
In contrast to the relatively sedate ''Calling'', this work is defined by action. At the center of the chapel is ''
The Inspiration of Saint Matthew
''The Inspiration of Saint Matthew'' (1602) is a painting by the Italy, Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Commissioned by the French Cardinal Matteo Contarelli, the canvas hangs in Contarelli chapel altar in t ...
'', a scene in which an angel dictates to St. Matthew the gospel. Although the three paintings by Caravaggio are today the star attraction of the chapel, the frescos by Cesari, who is considered by academics to have been overshadowed by Caravaggio, have been increasingly appreciated for their
Mannerist
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...
style. The Cesari fresco was finished in c. 1593, at which point Caravaggio was working for Cesari.
References
Sources
*John Gash, ''Caravaggio'', 2003
*Helen Langdon, ''Caravaggio: A Life'', 1998
*
Peter Robb, ''
M'', 1998
External links
Capella ContarelliWeb Museum- Caravaggio
{{coord, 41, 53, 58, N, 12, 28, 29, E, source:thwiki_region:IT_type:landmark, display=title
Caravaggio
Rome R. VIII Sant'Eustachio
Roman Catholic chapels in Rome