The Inspiration of Saint Matthew
The original, as its museum records it
Every line above is reproduced from the holding institution’s own catalogue entry, which is linked. Where their title, date or attribution differs from ours, theirs is the one printed here.
The file this print is made from
Sizes
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View in the galleryAbout this painting
The stool is tipping. Matthew kneels on it, and the bench, the Web Gallery of Art says, holds him in precarious equilibrium, like a modern schoolboy. Above him the angel counts on his fingers, in the scholastic fashion, the arguments the saint should take down.
This is the second Matthew. In the first, the Gallery notes, the angel guided the saint's uncertain hand; it was criticised for lack of decorum, the priests had it removed, and Giustiniani bought it. Caravaggio's answer wraps the angel in a whirlwind of drapery and leaves the pen to the saint.
Sources: Saint-Louis-des-Français, Rome, 'Les Caravages', read 2026-09-06 · Web Gallery of Art, Caravaggio, 'The Inspiration of Saint Matthew', Contarelli Chapel, commentary, read 2026-09-06 · Web Gallery of Art, Caravaggio, 'St Matthew and the Angel' (first version), commentary, read 2026-09-06 · Dermot Morrin OP, 'Caravaggio's St Matthew and the Angel', Dominicans of Scotland, read 2026-09-06 · Wikipedia, 'Paintings in the Contarelli Chapel', quoting Bellori, Le vite (1672) and Baglione (1642), read 2026-09-06 · Wikipedia, 'The Inspiration of Saint Matthew', read 2026-09-06
Printed on demand. Public-domain masterwork, reproduced from a 7,825 px master of the original. The whole image is printed — never cropped to fit the sheet — so every sheet carries an archival margin, and the dimensions and resolution listed above are the ones you receive.