Italian Baroque Art Analysis

Italian Baroque was a period through the late sixteenth century to the mid eighteenth century that included motion in paintings that created drama and tension. One of the most influential artists of Italian Baroque was known as Michelangelo Marisi da Caravaggio, most known as simply Caravaggio. Caravaggio went against the norm of popular baroque art, which before the time focused more on the religious experience in a painting. Instead, Caravaggio mostly focused on the realism of the specific scene of the paintings. His style of Baroque painting influenced many artists during the baroque period but also modern artists. Caravaggio used very dramatic uses of lighting and was very talented when it came to capturing physical aspects of his subjects as well as emotional well-beings. In Caravaggio’s most famous painting The Calling of Saint Matthew shows the moment that Jesus Christ calls upon Saint Matthew and inspires him to follow him. In most religious paintings, Jesus is glowing. Even if Jesus is not depicted in the middle of the painting, your focus leads to Jesus.

You can see Jesus pointing directly at Saint Matthew as if he’s saying, “You. Come with me.” And Matthew has an expression of confusion and is pointing to someone at his side. His face shows a narrative of of “Who? Him?” Based on the lighting we can very clearly tell that Jesus is calling upon Saint Matthew. Caravaggio depicts an interruption. The painting is physically in motion. If sitting in the scene, everyone would be very fluid and moving around and Jesus comes calling on Saint Matthew and everyone is in a freeze-frame. Jesus catches Saint Matthew off-guard while he was focusing on his four companions. He looks up as Jesus, his face illuminated but his body otherwise in shadow, extends his right arm in an action. In front of Jesus, slightly bending over and turning away from us, Peter repeats the