Focus on this artwork and explore the Interpretation.
The writings of the Church Fathers (starting with Origen) established Martha and Mary as representative of the active versus the contemplative aspects of Christian faith. This distinction was exemplified in art like Bernardino Luini's Martha and Mary, once in the Barberini Collection in Rome, and attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. Caravaggio would certainly have known the painting.
Bernardino Luini Caravaggio Origen Leonardo da Vinci Martha