Look closer: three details in this image
- The book Matthew bends over a large open volume.
- The angel The angel guides Matthew’s writing hand in this first version.
- The record This is a monochrome historical photograph of a painting missing since 1945.
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by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Page Created on / Page Updated on
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
Saint Matthew and the Angel: Caravaggio's Lost First Altarpiece
Caravaggio made two versions of Saint Matthew and the Angel for the Roman church of San Luigi dei Francesi. The version pictured on this legacy page is the first: Matthew bends over a book while a young angel reaches towards his hand. It later entered the Giustiniani collection, was acquired for Berlin in 1815, and is now missing, probably destroyed in the fires of May 1945. The second version survives above the altar of the Contarelli Chapel in Rome.[1]
The distinction is more than a matter of location. In the lost image, a physically present angel leans close to an elderly evangelist; in the surviving altarpiece, the angel floats above a differently posed Matthew. A historical photograph lets us compare the compositions, although it cannot recover the lost painting's colour, paint surface or full condition.[1][2]
Caravaggio in context
The Cardsharps
c.1595Calling of Saint Matthew
1599–1600Supper at Emmaus
1601At a Glance
- Work on this pagefirst Saint Matthew and the Angel, also catalogued as The Evangelist Matthew, by Caravaggio, before 1602 / about 1602.[1]
- Former collectionBerlin Gemäldegalerie, inventory 365, object 870411; acquired with the Giustiniani collection in 1815.[1]
- Size and mediumcanvas, 223 × 183 cm, according to the Berlin record.[1]
- Fatemissing since the Second World War, most likely destroyed in the Friedrichshain flak bunker in May 1945.[1][2]
- Surviving related workCaravaggio's second version in the Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome.[1]
Contents
- The First Painting and the Chapel Commission
- Why Was It Replaced?
- What Can the Old Photograph Tell Us?
- From Rome to Berlin
- Loss in 1945 and Rediscovery Through Photographs
- How It Differs From the Surviving Version
- Frequently Asked Questions
The First Painting and the Chapel Commission
The Contarelli Chapel was an important Roman commission for Caravaggio. He had already created the Calling of Saint Matthew and Martyrdom of Saint Matthew for the chapel walls. An altarpiece of the evangelist writing his Gospel completed the subject from another viewpoint: Matthew receives divine guidance while preparing the text attributed to him.[1]
The lost first painting made this encounter strikingly bodily. Matthew sits with bare legs and feet, bent awkwardly into the shallow picture space. An angel crowds beside him and guides the act of writing. Light picks out the old man's head, forearms and pages against a dark ground. This description is based on the surviving historical photographic record; its tonal reproduction does not reproduce the original colour accurately.[1][2]
The angel's proximity makes the painting intimate. Instead of a remote heavenly messenger, the figure leans directly into the evangelist's work. Matthew's body looks weighty, ordinary and vulnerable. That is a useful way to describe what the image shows, but it does not prove a particular reaction by every person who saw it in the seventeenth century.[1]
Why Was It Replaced?
Berlin's catalogue says the first canvas was rejected for the chapel altar. It notes that the early biographer Giovanni Baglione gave a strongly negative account, but warns by calling him a partisan writer. According to the museum, Vincenzo Giustiniani bought the painting from the congregation on the condition that Caravaggio have the chance to make a second version. That version is still on the altar.[1]
It is tempting to compress this story into “the priests rejected Matthew's dirty feet.” The feet are visible in the photograph, and their informality makes a plausible point of discomfort. But a single cause for rejection is difficult to prove from the available testimony. A Roma Capitale guide names both the picture's reduced dimensions and concerns about decorum; Berlin's catalogue stresses Baglione's hostile account and the sequence of purchase and replacement. These are different kinds of evidence, and neither is a surviving vote in which the chapel's commissioners give one definitive reason.[1][3]
There had already been an altar-image problem before Caravaggio's first canvas. Roma Capitale says a sculpture by Jacob Cobaert was set aside and that the church then entrusted the Saint Matthew and the Angel painting to Caravaggio. The first painting's replacement should therefore be read within a changing chapel commission, not as the only abandoned design in the chapel's history.[3]
Berlin's object essay observes that Matthew writes in Hebrew in the first painting, a detail it connects with period concern for historical fidelity. It is a reminder that the composition was not simply an act of provocation. Its realism and proximity could serve religious storytelling even if the commissioners ultimately preferred another solution.[1]
The second version did not erase the first. Giustiniani's acquisition preserved it for a private collection, allowing later viewers to compare Caravaggio's alternative ways of presenting inspiration. This sequence is unusually informative because the two designs relate to the same altar and the first was documented in a major collection before its wartime loss.[1]
What Can the Old Photograph Tell Us?
The inherited splash is a small, warm-toned reproduction of the Berlin composition. Berlin's object database names Gustav Schwarz as photographer and now marks its historical photograph Public Domain Mark 1.0. In 2026, the museum announced that it had digitised large glass negatives of many paintings lost in the Friedrichshain fires, making high-resolution images available for study.[1][2]
That is a major gain for visual comparison. A high-quality scan can reveal the contour of the angel's wing, Matthew's fingers, the stool and the handling of drapery more clearly than a small book reproduction. It also has a limit: the photograph records the painting as it appeared when photographed, in monochrome or historical tonal reproduction. It cannot tell us exactly how the original pigments appeared, how thick the paint was, or whether later restorations had altered it.[1][2]
From Rome to Berlin
The first version entered Vincenzo Giustiniani's collection after it was replaced in the chapel. Berlin bought it with the larger Giustiniani collection in 1815. The Berlin record assigns the painting inventory number 365 and object identifier 870411, which are useful when comparing catalogues or searching for photographs.[1]
These identifiers belong to the lost first canvas. They should not be attached to the extant Roman painting, and no visitor should be told that the photographed composition can still be seen at San Luigi dei Francesi. The distinction is especially important because search results often show both under the same English title.[1]
The Berlin provenance also explains why many modern discussions of Caravaggio's Roman commissions rely on photographs. The first canvas was available for study for centuries, but not after the Second World War. Modern claims about its colour, condition and exact brushwork need documentation from records made before the loss, not confidence drawn solely from a screen image.[1][2]
Loss in 1945 and Rediscovery Through Photographs
Berlin's collection database says the painting has been missing since the last war and was probably destroyed in May 1945 in the Friedrichshain anti-aircraft bunker. The museum's 2026 report describes two devastating fires there and an initiative to digitise surviving glass-negative photographs of lost paintings.[1][2]
“Probably destroyed” is the careful wording. It expresses the institution's assessment without pretending that the painting's destruction was observed and documented to the standard of a recoverable object record. The difference does not invite a sensational “secret survivor” story; it simply respects the limit of evidence.[1]
The image can now support study of form and iconography. It can also show visitors why collection records, photographs and inventory numbers are part of an artwork's history. A painting can be lost while evidence of its appearance and provenance survives.[1][2]
How It Differs From the Surviving Version
In the lost first painting, the angel is at Matthew's side and appears to participate directly in his writing. In the Roman altarpiece, the angel appears above the saint, and Matthew's posture and drapery have been reorganised. Both stage divine inspiration, but one emphasises close physical guidance while the other makes a clearer division between earth and heaven.[1]
The older first design also puts the saint's body conspicuously in front of us. The photographic record shows his heavy feet and bent posture as much as the open book. The surviving chapel painting is a different composition, not a restored or relocated form of the Berlin canvas. Looking at both images in sequence helps explain how Caravaggio could revise a religious subject without simply repeating it.[1]
For a broader account of the commission, start with the paintings in Rome guide and the two wall paintings. This page follows the lost first altarpiece and the evidence that remains for it.
Explore the Caravaggio collection
| Name | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Adoration of the Shepherds by Caravaggio: The Messina Nativity | 1608–09; precise order relative to Resurrection of Lazarus remains unresolved | Artwork |
| Amor Victorious by Caravaggio | 1601–02 in the Berlin owner record | Artwork |
| Bacchus by Caravaggio: The Uffizi Painting | about 1598, according to the Uffizi | Artwork |
| Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio | after 1597, probably around the turn of the seventeenth century, according to the Ambrosiana | Artwork |
| Boy Bitten by a Lizard: Caravaggio's London Painting | about 1594–95 in the National Gallery's current catalogue; URL suffix “1596” is inherited | Artwork |
| Boy Bitten by a Lizard: The Florence Version Attributed to Caravaggio | disputed; Longhi's catalogue record preserves historical 1592–93 and other proposed ranges, including c.1597 | Artwork |
| Boy Peeling Fruit by Caravaggio: The Royal Collection Painting | about 1592–93 in the owner's current exhibition record | Artwork |
| Boy Peeling Fruit in Florence: A Derivation from Caravaggio | — | Artwork |
| Boy with a Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio | about 1595 in the Galleria Borghese catalogue | Artwork |
| Caravaggio Paintings in Rome: Churches, Museums and a Practical Route | — | Guide |
| Caravaggio Quotes: What the Documents Actually Record | — | Guide |
| Caravaggio's Lute Player: The Del Monte Painting Once Shown at the Met | about 1596–97 in the Met catalogue | Artwork |
| Caravaggio's Painting Technique: Grounds, Incisions, Revisions and Light | — | Guide |
| Christ at the Column by Caravaggio: The Rouen Flagellation | c.1606 in the owner caption; owner prose gives 1606–07 | Artwork |
| Christ on the Mount of Olives by Caravaggio: The Lost Berlin Painting | — | Artwork |
| Conversion on the Way to Damascus by Caravaggio | about 1601 in the Roma Capitale church record | Artwork |
| Crowning with Thorns by Caravaggio: The Vienna Painting | about 1603 in the 2019 KHM record; “1607” is an inherited URL suffix | Artwork |
| Crowning with Thorns in Prato: Attributed to Caravaggio | about 1602–03 in the collection presentation | Artwork |
| David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio: The Borghese Painting | 1606–07 or 1609–10 in the Galleria Borghese catalogue; the later Naples period is favoured by many scholars, while the owner keeps the question open | Artwork |
| David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio: The Prado Painting | about 1600 in Prado material; “1599” survives only in the legacy URL | Artwork |
| David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio: The Vienna Painting | about 1600–01 in the KHM's 2019 exhibition record; “1607” is a legacy route label | Artwork |
| Did Caravaggio Make Drawings? What Survives and What Paintings Reveal | — | Guide |
| Ecce Homo: Caravaggio's Madrid Rediscovery and the Genoa Painting | — | Artwork |
| John the Baptist in Caravaggio's Paintings: A Guide to the Different Versions | — | Artwork |
| Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio | beginning of the seventeenth century in the owning museum's account; about 1599–1600 in the Kimbell's 2025 loan label; around 1602 in one specialist catalogue | Artwork |
| Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto: Caravaggio's Ludovisi Ceiling | about 1597; the archive connects the work with Cardinal del Monte's 1597 commission | Artwork |
| Madonna and Child with Saint Anne by Caravaggio: The Palafrenieri Altarpiece | 1605 in the Galleria Borghese object field; completed and delivered by 8 April 1606 | Artwork |
| Madonna of Loreto by Caravaggio: The Pilgrims at Sant'Agostino | broadly c.1604–06; institutional records differ slightly in their starting year | Artwork |
| Madonna of the Rosary by Caravaggio: The Vienna Altarpiece | around 1603 in the Kunsthistorisches Museum's object record | Artwork |
| Martha and Mary Magdalene by Caravaggio: The Detroit Painting | about 1598 in the Detroit Institute of Arts record | Artwork |
| Medusa by Caravaggio: The Uffizi Painted Shield | 1596–98 in the Uffizi's virtual exhibition; specialist research reports the shield delivered to the Medici wardrobe by 7 September 1598 | Artwork |
| Narcissus, Attributed to Caravaggio | dependent on attribution; the Zeri catalogue gives a broad 1610–50 range under Spadarino | Artwork |
| Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence: Caravaggio's Missing Painting | somewhere in 1600–09 in the parliamentary report; a specific 1609 execution and place remain debated | Artwork |
| Penitent Mary Magdalene by Caravaggio | 1597 in the owner's catalogue, during Caravaggio's early Roman activity | Artwork |
| Portrait of a Courtesan: Caravaggio's Lost Berlin Portrait | Berlin's data field says c.1590, while its own text compares a Caravaggio work of c.1598; precise date unresolved | Artwork |
| Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and His Page by Caravaggio | — | Artwork |
| Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli? Caravaggio's Pitti Knight of Malta | 1608 in the Restituzioni object heading; within Caravaggio's Malta period | Artwork |
| Portrait of Maffeo Barberini: The Seated Corsini Painting | c.1596–97 in the national catalogue | Artwork |
| Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini: Caravaggio's Newly Acquired Painting | around the late 1590s / age thirty; “1598” in the inherited address is approximate, not an exact document date | Artwork |
| Portrait of Pope Paul V: A Caravaggio Attribution and a Borghese Copy | — | Artwork |
| Prints After Caravaggio: Who Made Them and What They Show | — | Guide |
| Reclining Saint John the Baptist: A Disputed Caravaggio Attribution | often proposed for the artist's final years; the later museum list does not give a precise year. | Artwork |
| Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Caravaggio | about 1597 in the owner's catalogue | Artwork |
| Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Caravaggio: The Thyssen Painting | about 1598–99 in the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza catalogue | Artwork |
| Saint Francis in Meditation by Caravaggio: The Cremona Painting | 1603–06 in the owner account; c.1605–06 in a KHM exhibition caption | Artwork |
| Saint Francis in Prayer: Caravaggio's Carpineto Painting | 1606 in a 2016–17 exhibition work list | Artwork |
| Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy by Caravaggio | c.1595–96 in the owner wall text | Artwork |
| Saint Jerome in Meditation: Caravaggio's Montserrat Painting | 1605 in the owner record; an owner publication reports scholarship placing it about 1605–06 | Artwork |
| Saint Jerome Writing by Caravaggio: The Borghese Painting | c.1606 in the owner catalogue; the “1605” URL suffix is inherited | Artwork |
| Saint Jerome Writing by Caravaggio: The Malta Painting | around 1607–08; foundation dates Malaspina's commission to 1608 | Artwork |
| Saint John in the Wilderness at Toledo Cathedral | exact 1598 not established by the cited cathedral account. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at Galleria Corsini, Rome | about 1606 in the national record; older proposals ranged from the late 1590s onward. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at the Capitoline Museums, Rome | 1602. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at the Galleria Borghese | 1609–10 in the current Borghese record. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at the Spring: The Bonello Painting in Malta | early seventeenth century in the institutional account; a precise 1608 is not established there. | Artwork |
| Saint Matthew and the Angel: Caravaggio's Lost First Altarpiece | — | Artwork |
| Salome Receives the Head of John the Baptist: Caravaggio's London Painting | about 1609–10, likely late Naples period in the Gallery's account | Artwork |
| Salome with the Head of John the Baptist: Caravaggio's Madrid Painting | — | Artwork |
| Sleeping Cupid by Caravaggio: The Painting Made in Malta | about 1608, Malta period | Artwork |
| Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge: Is It by Caravaggio? | — | Artwork |
| Supper at Emmaus (1606): Caravaggio's Brera Painting | — | Artwork |
| The Annunciation by Caravaggio in Nancy | c.1607–10 in the collection record; 1608–10 in the museum's restoration account | Artwork |
| The Basel Saint John the Baptist: Once Labelled Caravaggio, Now Maíno | about 1608–10 in that schedule, rather than the legacy URL's 1600. | Artwork |
| The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist by Caravaggio | about 1608; installed in the Oratory on 29 August 1608 | Artwork |
| The Burial of Saint Lucy by Caravaggio in Syracuse | 1608, during Caravaggio's Syracuse stay | Artwork |
| The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio | about 1599–1600 | Artwork |
| The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew by Caravaggio | about 1602–04 in the Trust's object text | Artwork |
| The Cardsharps by Caravaggio | about 1596–97 in the Kimbell's current object record | Artwork |
| The Conversion of Saint Paul: Caravaggio's Odescalchi Panel | commissioned in 1600; painted around 1600–01 | Artwork |
| The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew by Caravaggio | 1606–07 | Artwork |
| The Crucifixion of Saint Peter by Caravaggio | about 1601 | Artwork |
| The Death of the Virgin by Caravaggio | commissioned 1601; completed late 1605 or early 1606, according to the Louvre | Artwork |
| The Denial of Saint Peter by Caravaggio | 1610 | Artwork |
| The Doria Pamphilj Saint John the Baptist: A Second Youth with a Ram | linked compositionally to the Capitoline 1602 picture; an exact production year for this canvas is not established by the owner pages used here. | Artwork |
| The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio: The Vatican Deposition | about 1600–04 in Vatican Museums publication material | Artwork |
| The Flagellation of Christ by Caravaggio: The Capodimonte Altarpiece | around 1607, in the first Naples period | Artwork |
| The Fortune Teller by Caravaggio: The Louvre Version and Its Roman Counterpart | — | Artwork |
| The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist by Caravaggio | early 1600s in the Met catalogue; no more exact owner date asserted here | Artwork |
| The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio | about 1601 in the SPSG presentation | Artwork |
| The Inspiration of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio | usually 1602; also catalogued 1602–03, for the installed final altarpiece | Artwork |
| The Lute Player by Caravaggio: The Hermitage Painting | about 1596 in the Hermitage collection publication; the Hermitage Friends restoration page gives about 1595–96 | Artwork |
| The Magdalen in Ecstasy: Caravaggio, Copies and a Disputed Original | — | Artwork |
| The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio | 1599–1600; unveiled with The Calling in 1600 | Artwork |
| The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Caravaggio | — | Artwork |
| The Musicians by Caravaggio | 1597 | Artwork |
| The Resurrection of Lazarus by Caravaggio in Messina | 1609; delivered 10 June 1609 in the owner account | Artwork |
| The Sacrifice of Isaac by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi: A Former Caravaggio Attribution | about 1615–17 in the Nicholas Hall catalogue; “1598” is an inherited URL label, not the accepted date | Artwork |
| The Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio: The Uffizi Painting | about 1603 in the Uffizi catalogue | Artwork |
| The Seven Works of Mercy by Caravaggio | 1606–07, according to the Pio Monte | Artwork |
| The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio: The London Painting | 1601 | Artwork |
| The Taking of Christ by Caravaggio | 1602 | Artwork |
| The Toulouse *Judith Beheading Holofernes*: A Caravaggio Attribution Debate | c.1606–07 if identified with the recorded Naples work; that identification is debated | Artwork |
| Young Sick Bacchus by Caravaggio | about 1595 in the Galleria Borghese catalogue | Artwork |
| Youth with a Ram: Why Caravaggio's Saint John Looks So Unusual | — | Artwork |
No matching pages found.
Discussion
Share a close observation about Saint Matthew and the Angel or a source that clarifies its history.
Which detail changes your reading?
Is there a collection record or document worth comparing?
What remains uncertain?
Join the Conversation
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the painting shown on this page?
It belonged to Berlin's Gemäldegalerie and has been missing since the Second World War. The museum considers it most likely destroyed in May 1945.[1]
Is the painting above the Contarelli altar the same work?
No. The chapel contains Caravaggio's second version of the subject. The first belonged to Giustiniani and then Berlin.[1]
Why was the first painting rejected?
Rejection and replacement are documented in Berlin's account, but a single proven cause is not. Early criticism and modern explanations should be presented as views, not as a written verdict from every commissioner.[1]
References
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Der Evangelist Matthäus, object 870411, inventory 365.
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie high-resolution digitisation of lost masterpieces, 2026.
- Roma Capitale, Caravaggio itinerary and the Contarelli Chapel's first Saint Matthew.
