Inspiration of St. Matthew

The altarpiece between the Calling and the Martyrdom. Matthew is a grey-bearded working man — his stool tilts precariously over the frame into our space — as an angel counts off the gospel points on his fingers. The first version was rejected as too undignified (Matthew was cross-legged and illiterate); Caravaggio painted this more decorous replacement. The dangling foot is still classic Caravaggio: sacred subject, dirty sole.