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19-642: The chapel owes its existence to an endowment left by the French cardinal, Matthieu Cointerel (Contarelli in Italian), who died in 1585. He left instructions for the decoration of the chapel, the first one to the left of the apse , which he had purchased within San Luigi dei Francesi ("Saint Louis of the French"), the church of the French community in Rome in 1565. The cardinal was rich and he had already paid for part of

38-483: A hemispherical vault or semi-dome , also known as an exedra . In Byzantine , Romanesque , and Gothic Christian church (including cathedral and abbey ) architecture , the term is applied to a semi-circular or polygonal termination of the main building at the liturgical east end (where the altar is), regardless of the shape of the roof, which may be flat, sloping, domed, or hemispherical. Smaller apses are found elsewhere, especially in shrines . An apse

57-580: A seated Matthew, and Jesus points at Matthew, "Calling". His hand references the receiving hand of Adam in the Creation of Adam panel on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel . Matthew and his companions, in contrast, are wearing robes concurrent with Caravaggio's time. On the right side of the wall is the Martyrdom of St. Matthew , depicting the scene in which Matthew meets his end. In contrast to

76-401: Is a semicircular recess, often covered with a hemispherical vault. Commonly, the apse of a church, cathedral or basilica is the semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir or sanctuary , or sometimes at the end of an aisle. Smaller apses are sometimes built in other parts of the church, especially for reliquaries or shrines of saints. The domed apse became a standard part of

95-490: Is one of three Caravaggio canvases in the chapel: hanging between the larger earlier canvases of The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew , and The Calling of Saint Matthew . This was not an easy commission for Caravaggio, and at least two of the three paintings had to be either replaced or repainted to satisfy his patron, the Cardinal Del Monte . In February 1602, following the installation of his first two pieces in

114-554: Is reserved for the clergy, and was therefore formerly called the "presbytery", from Greek presbuteros , " elder ", or in older and Catholic usage "priest". Semi-circular choirs, first developed in the East, which came into use in France in 470. By the onset of the 13th century, they had been augmented with radiating apse chapels outside the choir aisle, the entire structure of apse, choir and radiating chapels coming to be known as

133-661: The chevet (French, "headpiece"). The Inspiration of Saint Matthew The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602) is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio . Commissioned by the French Cardinal Matteo Contarelli, the canvas hangs in Contarelli chapel altar in the church of the French congregation San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, Italy . It

152-592: The Pope had told his French bishops. The new French king, Henry IV , had recently converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, but much remained to be done. Conversion was to be the Pope's theme with regard to France. Alarmed by the fact that Rome would be overrun with French pilgrims, the prefect in charge of the Fabricca, and of the money, Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte , suggested that his own personal painter, Caravaggio, should be contracted to paint oils on canvas for

171-530: The altarpiece, still following the Cardinal's original instructions. The third and final work, The Inspiration of Saint Matthew , was in place by 1602. Caravaggio's solution to decorating a typically gloomy Roman church interior has been deemed noteworthy. Visitors to the Contarelli Chapel today are confronted with paintings that use the gloom for effect. Caravaggio also considered the lighting in

190-629: The chapel, Caravaggio was contracted to create an altarpiece, to be delivered by Pentecost of that year. The first painting he created, Saint Matthew and the Angel , was rejected and later destroyed in World War II . The Inspiration of Saint Matthew was finished rather quickly, with Caravaggio receiving payment by September 1602. In the work featured on the altar, the angel belongs to an aerial and sublime dimension, enveloped in an encircling rippled sheet. The restless Matthew leans to work, as

209-467: The chapel, as each of the two side paintings are lit by a beam coming from the only source of natural light. The decorative cycle began with the painting on the left side of the chapel, invisible to the viewer when first entering the church. It is a large panel of the Calling of St. Matthew , one of Caravaggio's most well-known works. On the right of the composition, Jesus and St. Peter look directly at

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228-495: The church plan in the early Christian era. In the Eastern Orthodox Church tradition, the south apse is known as the diaconicon and the north apse as the prothesis . Various ecclesiastical features of which the apse may form part are drawn together here. The chancel (or sanctuary), directly to the east beyond the choir , contains the high altar, where there is one (compare communion table ). This area

247-469: The construction of the church facade. He put a large sum towards the high altar and specified that his chapel be decorated with scenes from the life of his name-saint, Matthew the Evangelist . Cointerel's executor, Virglio Cresenzi, commissioned a Flemish sculptor, Jacques Cobaert, to make a marble statue of Matthew and an angel for the altar. Giuseppe Cesari , then one of the foremost artists in Rome,

266-460: The relatively sedate Calling , this work is defined by action. At the center of the chapel is The Inspiration of Saint Matthew , a scene in which an angel dictates to St. Matthew the gospel. Although the three paintings by Caravaggio are today the star attraction of the chapel, the frescos by Cesari, who is considered by academics to have been overshadowed by Caravaggio, have been increasingly appreciated for their Mannerist style. The Cesari fresco

285-485: The street, calls him...". And on the left, Matthew at the moment of his martyrdom, celebrating Mass at the altar, with "a crowd of men and women, young and old and children...some appalled and others pitying...". Cesari finished the vault by 1593, but then became occupied with papal commissions; Cobaert produced a statue that was rejected, in part because it represented the Apostle without the traditional angel. This statue

304-422: The two side walls where Cesari would not put his murals. The contract with Caravaggio was signed on 23 July 1599. Despite disagreements over the composition of the second painting, Caravaggio's The Calling of Saint Matthew and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew were installed by July 1600. When Cobaert delivered his statues, the churchmen rejected them, and then commissioned Caravaggio to do another painting for

323-558: Was contracted to fresco the two side walls and the vault. The details were clearly set out in the contract—Cobaert's altarpiece would show Matthew sitting in a chair, about to write the Gospel, with an angel standing and "appearing to reason or in other suitable pose." Cesari's side walls would show, on the right, Saint Matthew in his counting house (Matthew was a tax collector before becoming an apostle of Christ), suitably dressed, rising "to go to Our Lord, who, passing by with his disciples in

342-430: Was finished in c. 1593, at which point Caravaggio was working for Cesari. 41°53′58″N 12°28′29″E  /  41.89944°N 12.47472°E  / 41.89944; 12.47472 Apse In architecture , an apse ( pl. : apses ; from Latin absis , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek ἀψίς , apsis , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis ; pl. : apsides ) is a semicircular recess covered with

361-672: Was later bought by the Archconfraternity of the Santissima Trinita` dei Pellegrini and placed in the chapel dedicated to their patron. In 1597, the money for the project was transferred to the Fabbrica di San Pietro, which administered the Church's buildings, yet producing no result. In 1599, preparations began for a Jubilee . "France...is not yet sufficiently cleansed from the thorns and weeds of heresy and corruption,"

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