The Inspiration of Saint Matthew

The Inspiration of Saint Matthew
Italian: San Matteo e angelo
ArtistCaravaggio
Year1602
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions292 cm × 186 cm (115 in × 73 in)
LocationSan Luigi dei Francesi, Rome

The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602) is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Commissioned by the French Cardinal Matteo Contarelli, the canvas hangs in Contarelli chapel altar in the church of the French congregation San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, Italy.

It is one of three Caravaggio canvases in the chapel: hanging between the larger earlier canvases of The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew, and The Calling of Saint Matthew. This was not an easy commission for Caravaggio, and at least two of the three paintings had to be either replaced or repainted to satisfy his patron, the Cardinal Del Monte.