RESONANCIAS DE FRANCISCO SUÁREZ EN EL ARTE DE CARAVAGGIO

This article explores the thematic connection between the theological thought of Francisco Suárez (1548–1617) and the painting The Calling of St. Matthew (1599–1600) by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, following the pioneering study of Professor Costantino Esposito. Both paintings by Caravaggio, contemporary in their execution, are situated within the post-Tridentine context of the Counter-Reformation and the intense Controversia de auxiliis divinae gratiae. The analysis focuses on Suárez’s doctrine of divine concursus, or the cooperation between God’s efficacious grace and human free will. Suárez, aligned with the Jesuit theses of Luis de Molina, proposed a solution that articulated a non-nullifying dependence, asserting that divine action operates non sine voluntate, sed cum voluntate (not without the will, but with the will), thereby constituting and guaranteeing the freedom of the human act. His treatise on this subject, De concursu et efficaci auxilio Dei ad actus liberi arbitrii necesario, was published in 1599, coinciding with the creation of Caravaggio’s canvas. It is argued that The Calling of St. Matthew operates as a powerful visual illustration of this complex relationship. The scene, set in darkness, is pierced by a diagonal beam of light symbolizing Divine Grace, while Christ’s gesture represents the call. The composition freezes the dramatic moment in which the individual (likely the young man absorbed in counting money) is interpellated, displaying the grace that enables, without coercing, a free response of acceptance or rejection. This visual representation of the tension between divine action and human response aligns with the Catholic doctrine of cooperation, implicitly refuting determinism. Additionally, The Martyrdom of St. Matthew (1599–1600) is considered the ultimate consequence of the free response to grace, emphasizing that martyrdom is a supreme act of free will sustained by divine grace. In conclusion, both Suárez’s theological speculation and Caravaggio’s pictorial dramatization explore, through different media, the mystery of the joint action of the divine and the human in the process of conversion and salvation.