# St Matthew [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [MICHELANGELO Buonarroti]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Marble, height 271 cm ## Commentary Michelangelo arrived to Florence right after Florence was declared a Republic in 1501 and he spent four years there being busy with commissions \(starting with the commission for creating the David\). The last commission which he received was a collection of twelve Apostles for the niches of the Choir of the Cathedral. Although we have the drawing for another statue, St Matthew was the only one he managed to complete before the contract was annuled when he moved to Rome in 1505. The figure of St Matthew is torqued around its central axis, a spasm of movement far different from the quite traditional pose of Michelangelo's David.Even in its unfinished state, Matthew's massive musculature suggests a deep reservoir of pent-up energy and divine inspiration. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="\#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 8 minutes\):<BR><A HREF="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/music1/bach/bach\_bwv\_244\_matthew.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true"><B>Johann Sebastian Bach: St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 \(excerpts\)</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> ## Related artworks - [A Man Lifting a Boar onto his Shoulder \(verso\)]() - [Abraham - Isaac - Jacob - Judah]() - [Achim - Eliud \(detail\)]() - [Achim - Eliud \(detail\)]() - [Achim - Eliud]() - [Aeneas with a Boy \(recto\)]() - [Allegorical figure]() - [Amminadab \(detail\)]() - [Amminadab \(detail\)]() - [Amminadab]() - [Ancestors of Christ: figures \(detail\)]() - [Ancestors of Christ: figures \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()