Caravaggio was one of the most influential Baroque artists, noted for his extraordinary use of light in his composition as well as the general quality of his paintings. Despite how remarkable his compositions were when finished, trying to obtain a piece by Caravaggio would have been quite a task, as it is known he was somewhat of a sketchy character. His works The Calling of Saint Matthew, The Inspiration of Saint Matthew and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew are only three paintings among his catalogue of masterpieces.
The way Caravaggio decided to depict The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599 - 1600) was a very different approach to the subject. The interior space which is created by the composition is ambiguous pertaining to whether or not it actually is an interior space, as there are not many clues to prove if it is interior or exterior. There are people crowded around one table on the left side of the composition with Christ and Saint Peter standing on the right side, Christ looking at the table and Saint Peter stepping in front of Christ, almost blocking him from the table. The lighting in the composition is an example of Caravaggio's "cellar lighting" technique which he was famous for, coming over the heads of Christ and Saint Peter, traveling to the figures at the end of the table, mainly Saint Matthew. It is interesting to note that everyone, excluding Saint Peter and Christ, are in clothes contemporary to Caravaggio's time. .
In The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602), Caravaggio created a very simplified composition, only showing the saint and an angel, his inspirational muse for writing the gospels. There is an interest in the classical with the heavy drapery functioning as the saint's clothes, as well as the drapery surrounding the angel. The angel seems to be telling Saint Matthew what to include in the gospels, pointing out things using his hands. There is a very high contrasting color issue with the material which was used for Saint Matthew's drapery and the background being a simple black only emphasizes that.
