St. Matthew and the Angel
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The angel who inspires him matches Matthew, for this is no literary angel,
but an angel for ferrymen.
Has anyone ever painted such an unsaintly St. Matthew, such an unangelic angel?
Matthew earned his living as a ferryman; he was no literary or scientific
figure. He wrote his Gospel without any Ph.D.; indeed, he looks as if writing
does not come easily to him. Caravaggio applied himself to convey the thickness
of Matthew's joints, the heaviness of his hands, the weight of his shoulders,
his "squirming" at the writing table.
Matthew's hands are rough and calloused,
as if he hardly could be expected to hold a quill.
The angel who inspires him matches
Matthew, for this is no literary angel, but
an angel for ferrymen. The angel even has a ferryman's face! Despite Matthew's
clumsiness, we can see his good will. The swirling nature of the angel is all
the more miraculous, for he brings the revelation of the Word to someone attempting
to write. The dialogue comes alive with immense tenderness, with intensely emotional
and fervent feeling.
Matthew's face, with its coarse
skin and wild beard, lights up and casts a gaze of thankfulness towards the angel.