The Inspiration of Saint Matthew

The Inspiration of Saint Matthew

I imagine every writer likes the theme of the inspiration of Saint Matthew. Who wouldn’t want to write at the dictation of an angel? My favorite painting no longer exists: it is the first version of Caravaggio’s Saint Matthew and the Angel for the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, destroyed in Berlin in 1945. The church deemed the painting too realistic, with the apostle looking like a peasant, his hand rigorously held by the angel; the second version was more reserved. But this sculpture in the Louvre, originally from the Cathedral of Chartres, is about as realist as Caravaggio’s first painting (Richelieu, room 203). The angel does not touch Matthew, but his long index finger, laid a few lines above those the evangelist is writing, guides him with gentle authority. Saint Matthew bends over the page, entirely absorbed in his sacred task, without a glance at the angel.