UTRECHT - ART CENTRE OF THE NETHERLANDS

The cityscape of Utrecht is still dominated by medieval buildings today. This gives us an idea of what the city must have looked like at the time of the Utrecht Caravaggisti. We also know some of the locations where the artists lived or worked at one time or another.

From 1621 until his death in 1624, Baburen lived as a bachelor with his sister and his mother on Jansdam (no. 5), where he died in 1624.

Gerard van Honthorst was extremely successful after he returned from Rome in 1620. From 1627 until his death in 1656, he lived in the immediate vicinity of Saint Martin’s Cathedral, which remains the city’s most significant building to this day (no. 4 on the map).

From 1626 to 1629, Ter Brugghen lived and worked on the Oudegracht, where Honthorst also lived in 1625 (nos. 2 and 3). Ter Brugghen most likely returned to Utrecht from Rome in 1614. Caravaggio’s influence on Ter Brugghen’s painting style continued well after the latter’s return, until his death in 1629.

"The Calling of Saint Matthew" was painted in 1621, long after Hendrick ter Brugghen’s return Utrecht from Rome. Although the work was clearly inspired by Caravaggio’s "The Calling of Saint Matthew" in Rome’s Cappella Contarelli, Ter Brugghen realized the scene in his own distinct way.

Positioned prominently in the centre of the painting, five hands point in different directions. They reflect the confusion that Christ caused when he approached the group of tax collectors and called Matthew to be his apostle. With a quizzical facial expression, Matthew points to himself, doubtful of really being the chosen one. The faces of the densely packed crowd convey distrust, incomprehension, and ignorance.

Based on his gaze, we can assume that the man in armour is not yet aware of the presence of Christ. He is focused entirely on the coins lying on the table, which he is counting by peering through his pince-nez. He is exclusively interested in material things, and with his literal short-sightedness, he represents those who are incapable of fully grasping the significance of the calling for the salvation of mankind.

The painting essentially preserves the narrative and figural structure of its model in the Contarelli Chapel, with Christ accompanied by Peter entering a scene of seated figures from the side. However, Ter Brugghen radically departs from the composition of his Italian model. Instead of the dramatic use of chiaroscuro, it is the diverse gestures that really animate the painting. The broad palette, which speaks to Ter Brugghen’s skill as a master colourist, also deserves special attention.