Caravaggio painted the The Calling of St. Matthew in 1599 and depicts the moment at which Jesus Christ inspires Matthew to follow him. The painting depicts the tax collectors sitting around the table and Jesus pointing towards Matthew who looks to be in shock. The Painting is visually lit by only 1 light source, the sun. A strong key of warm light beaming through the what appears to be a window frame. Due to the angle and temperature of the light source it would appear to be sometime around late afternoon as the sun begins to look warmer and gets closer to the horizon. It’s a hard beam of light that creates harsh contrast with distinctive shadows across the scene and the subjects faces. The light seems to bounce off the floor and walls. Acting as a slight fill for the subjects clothing that isn’t directly hit by the sunlight.

I really appreciate this painting and the realistic refraction and bounce of light within the frame. The beam of light creates this holy grail seemingly from the heavens pointing at Matthew and as the painting is about his choice to follow Jesus, this was intentional. I also appreciate how Caravaggio has used the window door above Matthew’s head to focus that beam of light onto his face, so the viewer knows exactly who to look at.