@byjacklynn: A huge thank you to @darkmaltatours for spending so much time with me pointing out every detail of this monumental painting! Mario is an independent tour guide and his passion for Maltese history is wonderful to experience! Caravaggio painted this in 1608 while in Malta, shortly after joining the Order of St. John (Knights of Malta) as a way to gain protection and possibly a pardon for his crimes in Rome. The painting was commissioned for the oratory of the Co-Cathedral of St. John in Valletta, and its subject carried profound significance for the knights, who saw John the Baptist as their spiritual model of sacrifice and service. It is Caravaggio’s largest canvas (over 12 feet wide), and unusually for him, it was created not just as art but also as a kind of statement of loyalty to the Order. He signed it in a dramatic way: not with paint, but in the blood spilling from John’s neck, making it his only known signed work. Ironically, within months of completing the painting, Caravaggio was arrested in Malta (likely after a violent altercation), expelled from the Order, and fled the island. The work stands as both a gift of allegiance and a bitter reminder of his downfall, one of his last and most monumental contributions to Baroque art! #caravaggio #arthistory

History by Jacklynn

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Sunday 28 September 2025 18:36:32 GMT