Martyrdom of John the Baptist

Caravaggio - Beheading of John the Baptist

Today being the feast of the martyrdom of St John the Baptist, I thought of reflecting for a moment on the most impressive artistic masterpiece we have in Malta, the ‘Beheading of John the Baptist’ by Caravaggio. This is a massive painting (142 in × 200 in) which is in the oratory of St John’s Cathedral in our capital city Valletta. It was the only painting that Caravaggio signed, with the signature visible in the pool of blood trickling from John’s head. It was done in 1608, and has been recently restored. The image depicts the execution of John the Baptist while nearby a jailer issues instructions and the executioner draws his dagger to finish the beheading. The painting has three groups of characters. The first two are two other prisoners behind the bars, looking inquisitively and shockingly at the gruesome beheading. The second group are the two women on the far left, one of whom is Salome who stands with a golden platter to receive his head. Another woman, who has been identified as Herodias or simply a bystander who realizes that the execution is wrong, stands by in shock. The other three characters in the middle part of the painting consist of the jailer ordering the murder, the executioner, and the lifeless body of John, partly covered with a cloth and partly with a piece of sheep-skin. Completed in Malta, the painting had been commissioned by the Knights of Malta as an altarpiece, and it is of course in the classic chiaroscuro style.