The Calling of St. Matthew

The painting that made Caravaggio famous overnight. A shaft of divine light cuts across a shadowed tax office; Christ points at Matthew, and Matthew points at himself with an incredulous 'Me?'. The Christ figure is barely visible in shadow — the light does the theology. Note the anachronistic 17th-century clothes on the tax collectors: Caravaggio placed the miracle in a contemporary Roman tavern. Bring a €1 coin for the light box on the wall — the chapel is otherwise almost black.