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The Calling of Saint Matthew

Leonardo Mascagni XVII sec. d.C./ prima metà

The painting with the scene of the Calling of Saint Matthew captures the moment when Levi (later Matthew) offers himself to Christ who, dressed in red, addresses him surrounded by the Apostles. In the combination of Allori's monumental style and the sobriety in the drawing adopted by Santi di Tito, it is a perfect example of late 20th century painting in Prato, influenced by the dictates of the Counter-Reformation.

Technical information

Author: Leonardo Mascagni
Title: The Calling of Saint Matthew
Date: XVII sec. d.C./ prima metà
Material and technique: Oil on panel
Size: 295x199,5 cm
Location: Palazzo Pretorio Museum
Second Floor

The figures are perfectly in keeping with the vein of reformed Santi di Tito painting, whereby “primitive” and “Nordic” artists were considered closer to the Christian ideal than contemporary mannerist painters. Mascagni came into contact with Santi di Tito thanks to his father's membership of the Opera di S. Maria del Soccorso, which had commissioned the artist between 1579 and 1580 to paint the main altar of the sanctuary.
Following ecclesiastical suppressions, the work, which adorned an altar in the Church of San Matteo, passed into the hands of the Confraternity of San Gerolamo in 1783 and became part of the collection of the Town Hall from 1788.