Caravaggio's St. Matthew
has an angel of an ear above him
& his pencil & his tablet
& his pencil & his tablet
oil on canvas (297 × 189 cm) 1602San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome
Matthew the publican,
recorder of deeds,
public contractor,
tax collector:
recorder of deeds,
public contractor,
tax collector:
Grace always humbles.
He was a publican; that is, a tax-gatherer for the Romans.
Of such characters we cannot have a more lively idea,
than from what our Lord himself said of them:
"Let him be to thee as an heathen man and a publican."
Such was Matthew when called.
And where was he when called?
[Robert Hawker 1753-1827]
(no ear at all but a coiled sheet,
angelic toga, wrapped & swirled
like a nautilus, the shell of a task
to sort through revelations,
flesh-made words, prophecies,
like so many denarii & shekel
dropped into sacks & marked in ledgers)
he leans there left knee on the stool
right elbow on table, pencil gripped in right hand fingers,
tightly, tip of pencil still tracing the curves of numbers,
amounts collected, to be collected, to take, to take, [to save?]
angelic toga, wrapped & swirled
like a nautilus, the shell of a task
to sort through revelations,
flesh-made words, prophecies,
like so many denarii & shekel
dropped into sacks & marked in ledgers)
he leans there left knee on the stool
right elbow on table, pencil gripped in right hand fingers,
tightly, tip of pencil still tracing the curves of numbers,
amounts collected, to be collected, to take, to take, [to save?]
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples,
he gave them power
against unclean spirits, to cast them out,
and to heal all manner of
sickness and all manner of disease.
[Matthew 10.1]
& yet the halo’s curling ray above his head is permanently visible,
earned?
by turning back on clinking coin,
collecting crosses,
counting spirits cast out, out …
though no fisher of fish or men but mammon,
the face fixed upon the angel, inscrutible,
permanenet, riches gone, permanently
exchanged for halo’s hanging glow.
earned?
by turning back on clinking coin,
collecting crosses,
counting spirits cast out, out …
though no fisher of fish or men but mammon,
the face fixed upon the angel, inscrutible,
permanenet, riches gone, permanently
exchanged for halo’s hanging glow.
though discipleship is costly, Caravaggio knewIf anyone ishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it;
but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
For what will it profit a man if he
gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?
Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and
WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.
[Matthew 16.24-27]
the price of getting it wrong, obscurity,
and right, through chiaroscuro,
the light comes out of the darkness
like the curling arc of a halo or the flip of a coin.
posted by W.C.P. at 3:22 PM
2 Comments:
This isn't quite right. The formatting is off and I have made some more changes, but here it is at a first go.
The painting is actually the second in a series of three by Caravaggio depicting St. Matthew: the first is the "Calling," the second is the "Inspiration" (this one), and the third is the "Matyrdom".
Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to follow that with my crappy little poems about birds and/or long-dead versions of someone un/like me? You just gave me writer's block.
Intimidatingly good, duh.
Post a Comment
<< Home