Michelangelo Caravaggio, the great Baroque painter of the seventeenth century, was always an artist under scrutiny. His style, the subject matter of his paintings, and how he chose to depict his subjects, was often criticized and rejected by his patrons. In a journal article written by Troy Thomas, entitled "Expressive Aspects of Caravaggio's First Inspiration of Saint Matthew", these rejected paintings are discussed. The article focuses on the themes of these rejected works, but namely Inspiration of St. Matthew, and uses these themes to prove the work's validity. This painting is compared and contrasted to other similar, accepted works of the time as well, to help show that the work was not done in bad taste.

Commissioned by Francesco Contarelli for the Church of San Luigi, Caravaggio's first attempt at portraying the Inspiration of Saint Matthew was rejected by the patrons for a few reasons that all underlined...