It seems appropriate today to think about taxes, though if you already filed you might wish not to be reminded, for which I then apologize. Earlier this week I was reading about Caravaggio whose The Calling of St. Matthew is in the Contarelli Chapel, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome which seems appropriate to address now.
The Bible says, in Matthew 9:9, that Levi, counting his money, once summoned by Saint Peter and Christ immediately left his life of finance to be a disciple and the apostle, Saint Matthew:
Jesus saw a man named Matthew at his seat in the custom house, and said to him, "Follow me", and Matthew rose and followed him. Now just about the last thing any of us need is someone from the IRS believing they are on a mission from God, or to God, so let's forget about how I got to this painting today and laugh that I argued with someone this week about that wrist, limply pointing a finger at Levi, who responds with a surprised pointing at himself.
For someone who has not studied the Sistine Chapel in depth, that hand is reminiscent of the Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling gesturing between God and Adam. I have included a close up of both here because after looking more closely I have decided that indeed Adam's hand does resemble Christ's.
The painting may not be Caravaggio's strongest (so 'they' say) although the split second of stillness amid the money counting, Christ's entrance, St. Matthew's calling seems perfectly executed to me. Another work by Caravaggio,
The Fortune Teller, will be at the I
talian Cultural Institute from May 11- 13th where hand gestures continue to play a vital role in the action, in which today's fortune would have been exchanged for a future fortune, but the young man looks as convinced as I would be.
No comments:
Post a Comment