The Calling of Saint Matthew
Jan Sanders van Hemessen
Date unknown · Oil on wood · European Paintings
According to the New Testament, Matthew was a tax collector who received a summons from Christ to abandon his way of life and become an apostle. Van Hemessen imagined the scene as a swirling vortex of limbs making conflicting gestures in a miniature drama. Technical examination has revealed that this version is a high-quality early-seventeenth-century copy of Van Hemessen’s original in Vienna, indicating the persistent popularity of his innovative paintings on the Antwerp art market.
- Artist
- Jan Sanders van Hemessen
- Date
- Date unknown
- Medium
- Oil on wood
- Department
- European Paintings
- Credit line
- Purchase, 1871
