Inspiration of Saint Matthew

The angel is the sign

Of the four evangelists, Matthew is the one whose symbol is human. The scheme gives Mark a lion, Luke an ox, John an eagle, and Matthew a winged man, and painters have long resolved that figure into an angel standing at the writer's shoulder. An inspiration subject makes the symbol into a participant: the attribute is not resting on a table, it is dictating. That is a rare inversion in a system built on things saints hold.

What the record holds

The entry is dated 1602 and gives San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, Italy as its location. Its dimensions are 292 x 186 cm, a tall upright — the proportion of a panel made for a specific wall rather than for a collection. It is filed under Religion and religious cultural heritage, with the styles given as Baroque and Tenebrism; the measured colour families are brown and red.

The third canvas at the same address

This is one of 3 entries in this catalogue that record the same Roman church as their location. The other two share the identical measurement of 323 x 343 cm; this one, at 292 x 186 cm, is the odd shape among them. The style field lists Tenebrism alongside Baroque, and Tenebrism names a method rather than a period: a picture built out of darkness with light admitted narrowly, so that the few lit things carry the identification.