THE RELATIONSHIP OF CARAVAGGIO'S CONTARELLI CHAPEL PAINTINGS WITH THE ARCHITECTURAL SPACE

In art history, architecture and art of painting have been related to each other. Paintings have been made for being shownin the architectural space and progessed. The paintings of St. Matthew by Caravaggio for the Contarelli Chapel are typical examples of the relationship between architectural space and painting. In Rome, in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi, The paintings which decorate the the chapel that has been decicated to St. Matthew by French cardinal Matteo Contarelli were commissioned to Caravaggio. Each picture is designed with a relationship to the architectural structure of the chapel in compotion, form and content. The paintings depict three important moments in the life of Saint Matthew. The picture on the left wall shows the call of Matthew to the apostle, and the picture below shows Matthew writing the Bible with the inspiration of the angel, and the picture on the right wall shows the martyrdom of Matthew. The paintings have a functional effect on the architectural structure of the chapel and have a direct impact on the perception of the space by the viewers. Caravaggio uses the features of architectural elements as pictorial elements and integrates space and pictures