There are many 17th century documents that have detailed information about artists such as Caravaggio, Stein, and Picasso, but a few of them capture the biography of Matthias Thomer, or Thom as they differently chose to call him in their writings (Varriano, 123). However, among the most documented works of Thomer or Thom is . This painting was created by Thomer as this paper will henceforth refer to the artist in ca. 1629, 17th century A.D (Varriano, 123). Like many other artists of the 17th century, Thomer crafted this awesome artwork through oil on canvas media; its original dimensions are 174.9 x 224 cm (Varriano, 123). However, even as this paper analyzes Thomer’s painting, , special emphasis are made to recognize other artists such as…show more content… Between 1599 and 1640s, religious paintings were very popular in Italy and Rome. Most of the artworks that told religious stories were sponsored by the priest of major parishes in the country, as they used them to decorate places of worship (Varriano, 134). At the time when Matthias Stom lived, many painters such as Caravaggio painted more of religious paintings than they did with other themes. Many artworks painted between 1600 and 1650 at a time when Stom created this painting carried religious messages, among them, are the great works of Caravaggio such as (1599-1600), from which Stom got inspiration for his work, and the martyrdom of saint Mathew (1599-1600) (Varriano, 134). Baroque painting of 17th century also utilized oil on canvas as the media for most of the paintings created during the time (Varriano, 134). In line with the tradition many Baroque period painters, Thom also uses oil on canvas when creating his artwork. Therefore, the above facts place the painting by Stom in its rightful historical…show more content… This period was referred to as the Baroque period in Italy (Smither 67). This period is characterized by plenty of religious paintings are sculptures created by different artists. Baroque paintings were typical manifestations of the tense religious mood that engulfed most parts of Europe including Italy (Smither 67). The Catholic Church for instance was battling the growing rebellion and growth of protestant churches in the country and other parts of Europe. Many priests and catholic leaders wanted to thwart the growing influence of the protestant churches; they funded and commission a great of religious paintings and baroque sculptures that spread the gospel of the apostles and the life of Jesus Christ (Smither 67). Many forms of architectural designs and structures erected in Rome during this period took the themes of Roman Catholic dogma.
The influence of the Roman Catholic Church in the 17th century was immense in Italy and Europe (Smither 72). Many artworks, designs, and sculptures created in this period that represented the ideas of the Church passed the test of public acceptability in the country (Smither 67). For this reason, I think that the artwork was greatly accepted by the people who lived in Rome at the time when it was painted because it addressed the need of the Catholic Church that had so much influence in the
