In which year did Caravaggio complete “The Calling of Saint Matthew”? He completed it in 1600.
The painting shows Christ identifying the tax collector Matthew and calling him to discipleship. Caravaggio made it for the Contarelli Chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi, the church of Rome’s French community. The commission formed part of a larger cycle devoted to Saint Matthew.
The work is usually dated 1599–1600, which explains why some references give a range rather than one year. However, the final payment was made in July 1600, and 1600 is the standard single-year answer used for the quiz. It remains in the Contarelli Chapel, alongside Caravaggio’s “The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew.”
A common mix-up is with “The Inspiration of Saint Matthew,” the third painting in the chapel. That work dates to 1602, whereas “The Calling” belongs to Caravaggio’s breakthrough Roman church commission at the turn of the seventeenth century.