Matthew

Saint Matthew is described in Christian scripture as being one of the twelve apostles of Jesus as well as one of the four Evangelists.

Lorenzo Ghiberti devoted his last panels from his north doors to several saints, capturing each individually having earlier completed intense depictions of various episodes from the life of Jesus Christ. You will also find Luke, John and Mark amongst his twinned bronze doors which in total took over two decades to complete. The stunning craftsmanship imparted in these artworks would ensure that Ghiberti was never short of work from their on.

Many have included within artistic depictions, most frequently during the Renaissance. His teaching goes beyond just Christianity, though, and so artists from many other parts of the world have also used him as inspiration for their own work. The contract signed by Ghiberti stipulated that only his hand may be responsible for the foliage within the background and no-one else's. It was this detail that one his the award of this project in the first place.

Matthew was also captured by several other notable artists including Guido Reni, Giuseppe Bernardo and most significantly, Caravaggio with The Calling of St Matthew. That latter features the typical use of dramatic light by an artist who was to become as famous for his boisterous behaviour as he was for his influential art.