Description
The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew is one of Caravaggio’s great canvases, painted in 1599–1600: in a dark church a young, almost naked executioner with a sword stands over the saint, who has fallen in white vestments on the altar steps, while an angel leans down from a cloud holding out a palm. The original, oil on canvas, is 323 cm high and 343 cm wide and still hangs in the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. We paint it by hand in oils on canvas, in 6 large, almost square sizes from 110 x 107 to 250 x 225 cm or made to measure, and photograph the finished work for you before it ships.
| Title: | The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew |
| Other titles: | Martirio di san Matteo · Das Martyrium des heiligen Matthäus |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) |
| Year painted: | 1599–1600 |
| Original size: | 323 cm x 343 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, tenebrism |
| Located at: | Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 6 sizes or made to measure |
The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew – Caravaggio
What does The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew show?
Before an altar with a burning candle stands a young man stripped to a white cloth around his hips. One hand holds the sword; the other grips the wrist of the grey-haired apostle Matthew, who lies on the altar steps in white vestments, his arm still raised.
Onlookers pull back on both sides: a man in a plumed hat recoils on the left, and a boy in white runs from the altar on the right, mouth wide open. In the foreground sit half-dressed and nude young men, the light on their backs.
Above, an angel on a white cloud bends down and offers the saint a palm frond, the sign of martyrdom. The background is almost black, so the eye goes first to the executioner, the saint’s white robe and the angel.
What is the story behind the scene?
Matthew was one of the twelve apostles and the author of the Gospel that bears his name. Tradition holds that he was killed on the orders of the king of Ethiopia while saying Mass at the altar. The king desired his own niece, who was a nun, and Matthew had rebuked him for it.
What the canvas had to contain was laid down decades earlier by the French cardinal Matthieu Cointerel, Contarelli in Italian: the saint murdered by a soldier sent by the king, fitting architecture, and a crowd showing the proper emotions.
In the reading Wikipedia gives, Matthew is not cowering from the blow but reaching for the palm the angel holds out, an angel only he can see. The scene is then less about terror than about a saint received by heaven at the last moment.
Why is this painting so famous?
Because it made Caravaggio famous in Rome overnight. Wikipedia says it caused a sensation: Federico Zuccari, an eminent champion of Mannerism, came to look and dismissed it, but the younger artists were won over.
He had never painted so large a canvas or so many figures, and X-rays reveal two abandoned compositions. In the third he dropped the architecture, cut the figures, brought the action closer and lit it as if by a flash of lightning.
Behind the executioner, a little left of centre, a bearded man looks back out of the dark. This is a self-portrait of Caravaggio, who placed himself among the witnesses.
A year later, in 1601, Caravaggio painted The Crucifixion of Saint Peter for another Roman chapel, with three labourers raising the cross on which the old apostle is nailed head down. More on how the Matthew came about is in the English Wikipedia article.
Where does the original hang, and how did it come about?
The original has stayed where it was painted to hang: the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi, the French community’s church in Rome.
It faces The Calling of Saint Matthew and sits beside the altarpiece showing the apostle’s inspiration, all three by Caravaggio. The Martyrdom was the first of the three to be installed, in July 1600.
Strictly speaking, the commission came not from the church but from Caravaggio’s patron, Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte.
The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew or another Caravaggio?
The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew is a canvas painting for anyone who loves big, crowded scenes, movement and a sharp clash of light and dark.
Since it belongs to a cycle, many buyers pair it with The Calling of Saint Matthew, which hangs on the opposite wall of the same chapel. The third chapter is the upright The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, where an angel dictates the Gospel to the old apostle.
If a crowd in night light appeals to you, look too at The Seven Works of Mercy from Naples, all seven corporal works of mercy in one dark street. Browse the other famous Caravaggio paintings we offer on our Caravaggio page.
How does our painter paint this martyrdom?
We begin only once you order, painting in oils on canvas layer by layer. The painter first places every figure on the dark ground, from the executioner to the angel on the cloud, and moves on to colour only when the proportions hold.
He then handles the light as Caravaggio did, from one side and hard. The dark passages are built up in thin glazes so they stay deep. The faces take longest, since each shows a different feeling, from horror to astonishment.
This Caravaggio reproduction shows brushmarks up close and pulls together as one scene from a few steps back. Under an evening spotlight, an oil painting reproduction like this does what Caravaggio counted on in the dark chapel: the pale figures glow.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: all 6 sizes are large and belong on a wide wall above a sofa or dining table, on a staircase or in a room with a high ceiling, not above a bedside table or in a narrow hallway.
We paint The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew in 6 almost square sizes (width x height): 110 x 107, 130 x 117, 150 x 138, 175 x 161, 198 x 178 and 250 x 225 cm. The closest to the original is the largest, 250 x 225 cm, which is still 93 cm narrower and 98 cm lower than the canvas in Rome.
110 x 107 and 130 x 117 cm sit well above a sofa, sideboard or dining table; 150 x 138 and 175 x 161 cm fill the main wall of a larger living room; 198 x 178 and 250 x 225 cm need a truly big wall, such as a staircase, an entrance hall or an office.
As a painting for the living room it is best balanced at 150 x 138 cm above a long sofa.
Can I order another size or a frame?
Of course. For a size of your own we adapt the composition so that the executioner, the saint and the angel with the palm stay whole. Send us the width and height you need for The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew, and we will come back with a price and a lead time.
Matthew leaves us rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed, all done by our workshop in Slovenia. You pick the frame in our 3D app, which is only for choosing the moulding; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
A large dark scene like this suits a plain dark wooden frame or a broad antique-gold moulding.
When will the painting arrive, and how is it delivered?
We start painting once you confirm your order, and the Martyrdom ships within 15 to 45 working days. Before that you receive a photograph of the finished work, and if you would like anything changed we do it before dispatch. Deliveries within Slovenia and the rest of the EU carry no customs duty, and our returns policy applies to every order.
It makes a gift for a special occasion: for a Matthew, a lover of the Baroque or a company with a large entrance hall. Unsure of the size? Give a wall art voucher and let the recipient choose.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
In the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, where it has hung since July 1600.
What happens in the scene?
An executioner kills the apostle Matthew at the altar, witnesses flee, and an angel on a cloud hands him the martyr’s palm.
Is this a print on canvas?
No. It is a hand-painted copy, brushed in oils on canvas by one of our painters.
How big is Caravaggio’s original?
It is 323 cm high and 343 cm wide, so larger than our biggest size of 250 x 225 cm.
Why are there only large sizes?
Its many figures and faces would be lost if painted small, so it starts at 110 x 107 cm.
Does it suit a bedroom?
Rather a living room, dining room, stairwell or office with a big wall.
Who is the bearded man behind the executioner?
It is Caravaggio’s self-portrait: the painter placed himself among the witnesses.
How long does it take to make?
15 to 45 working days; before dispatch you get a photograph of the finished painting.
- Subject: a young executioner with a sword stands over Saint Matthew, fallen in white vestments on the altar steps; witnesses flee, an angel on a cloud holds out the palm.
- Original: 1599–1600, oil on canvas, 323 x 343 cm, Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome.
- Ours: painted by hand in oils on canvas, in 6 large sizes from 110 x 107 to 250 x 225 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: the bearded man in the background behind the executioner is Caravaggio himself.
