The Calling of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio, 1599-1600

 

The Calling of Saint Matthew,
Caravaggio, 1599-1600

  我看到了什么？

  光和门口人的手指指向桌子中间的人。

  指的人的侧脸看起来棱角分明，给人坚毅的感觉。

  被指的人还不确定是否是指自己。

  左边离门较远的两个人还在注意桌上的钱，说明门口的人并没有做出引人注目的举动，也没有大声说些什么，只是用坚定的眼神和手势示意。仿佛以前上学时，老师走进嘈杂的教室，无声示意某个同学出去，他可能是之前做了错事，也可能是有什么奖励通知来了。

  右边三个人注意到了来者，似乎有些警惕，但又有些漫不经心，可能就像那些教室里注意到老师行为的同学，有些好奇但又觉得自己凑不上热闹。

  从服饰上，桌上的5人可能是宫廷的卫兵，门边的一位老者可能是这个赌场/酒馆的老板或者伙计，衣着最简朴，从黑暗的光线看，这个场所应该比较破旧。

  我的感受是什么？

  明暗对比给我一种宿命和庄重的感觉。让我感觉这个场景和故事很重要。

  黑色和橘黄色、红色、黄色在一起，让我想到夜晚的篝火，给我一种温暖的感觉。好像在黑暗贫穷的生活里，仍然会有神圣的东西出现。

Thus, not unlike the scene over the dinner table, portrayed in Supper at Emmaus (1601, National Gallery, London), Caravaggio shows us that miracles occur in the midst of the most mundane situations.

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/calling-of-saint-matthew.htm

  整幅画感觉非常清晰。

  我想要知道什么？

  这是一个什么故事？（what is its subject?）

  这个地方不是酒馆/赌场，而是一个custom house（海关）。指的人就是Jesus，被指的人叫Matthew，Jesus对Mstthew说“follow me”（让他成为apostle（传教士）），然后Matthew就站起来跟着Jesus走了。Matthew的职业是tax collector。站在Jesus Christ旁边的人不是这个地方的伙计，而是跟随Jesus的Saint Peter。（故事来源：Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 9:9)）

  Matthew是谁？

  从图中看：

  很多人认为是中间那个长胡子的人，但是也有人认为是最左边低着头的人，还有人认为画家刻意制造歧义。

Subject matter[edit]

The painting depicts the story from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 9:9): "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." Caravaggio depicts Matthew the tax collector sitting at a table with four other men. Jesus Christ and Saint Peter have entered the room, and Jesus is pointing at Matthew. A beam of light illuminates the faces of the men at the table who are looking at Jesus Christ.

Identity of Matthew[edit]

There is some debate over which man in the picture is Saint Matthew, as the surprised gesture of the bearded man at the table can be read in two ways.

Most writers on the Calling assume Saint Matthew to be the bearded man, and see him to be pointing at himself, as if to ask "Me?" in response to Christ's summons. This theory is strengthened when one takes into consideration the other two works in this series, The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew. The bearded man who models as Saint Matthew appears in all three works, with him unequivocally playing the role of Saint Matthew in both the "Inspiration" and the "Martyrdom".

A more recent interpretation proposes that the bearded man is in fact pointing at the young man at the end of the table, whose head is slumped. In this reading, the bearded man is asking "Him?" in response to Christ's summons, and the painting is depicting the moment immediately before a young Matthew raises his head to see Christ. Other writers describe the painting as deliberately ambiguous.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Calling_of_St_Matthew_(Caravaggio)

  更细的观察：

  1.同样注意到Jesus进来的两个人，年幼的那个带有一点警惕性，身体在往后拉，而年纪稍大的那个则是主动伸出身体向来者观察。

In addition, the ray of light illuminating their faces, draws attention to the two youths, who appear rather lost in this group of older men. While one of them draws back in apprehension and looks to his older neighbour for protection, the other has turned to confront Christ, causing Saint Peter to gesture firmly for calm. Through the visual contrast between their reactions, Caravaggio displays psychological insight into two possible patterns of human behaviour in the same situation.

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/calling-of-saint-matthew.htm

  2.Jesus和Saint Peter的脚居然是赤裸的！和tax collector的靴子形成了鲜明的对比！

Here, for instance, the dandyish tax-collector and his fashionably-dressed associates - all busily counting the day's proceeds - are contrasted with the barefoot Christ. 

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/calling-of-saint-matthew.htm

  3. 中间的Matthew在和Jesus沟通的同时，右手还覆盖在桌上的钱上！（所以这么注重钱的人怎么就立刻跟着Jesus走了？？）

 So as well as casting his gaze on a sinner like Levi, Jesus is shown to shine the cleansing light of faith into Levi's dark habitat of financial greed. Notice, for example, how Levi keeps his right hand on the coin he was counting before being interrupted by Christ. 

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/calling-of-saint-matthew.htm

  4.Jesus的手势非常想另一幅画中的手势

The Church saw Christ as a second Adam, a view acknowledged by the fact that Christ's gesture as he indicates Levi, is almost identical to Adam's gesture in The Creation of Adam (1511), part of the Genesis Fresco in the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo.

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/calling-of-saint-matthew.htm

  5.Matthew的不确定和Jesus的坚定形成了鲜明对比

But Caravaggio's masterpiece is no film, and Levi's moment of uncertainty - juxtaposed with the monumental certainty of Jesus Christ - will last for ever.

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/calling-of-saint-matthew.htm

我想到了什么？

  我最近一直在思考职业和爱好的问题，还有人文教育和职业教育，反正就是觉得自己没有勇气放弃那些带来生活温饱和稳定性的事情，比如现在读的专业，而去追求自己真正想做的事，读人文专业，出国。我觉得如果我不用担心物质条件，那我也就做了，可是我总不能在家准备几年，再申请个国外学校吧？找相关实习估计也很难，只能做低端的新媒体运营，如果做公务员什么的，那不就和我现在读这个专业一样，用业余时间发展自己的爱好：读想读的书，练习阅读和写作能力吗？

  Matthew怎么就放弃自己稳定的职业，跟着Jesus风餐露宿起来了呢？

  同样的事情，我想到了毛姆的小说《月亮与六便士》，那个人到中年，放弃稳定职业去丛林画画的高更；契诃夫的小说《遛狗的女人》里我人到中年，觉得遇到了人生挚爱，但是两个人都已经结婚，幽会的同时苦恼于如何挣脱现有的束缚。