The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
1608 · Oil on canvas · Oratory of St John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- Caravaggio (1571–1610)
- Year
- 1608
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 361 × 520 cm
- Collection
- Oratory of St John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta
- Movement
- Baroque
In a prison courtyard the executioner, having struck with his sword, reaches for the knife at his belt to finish the job while Salome holds out a gold dish for the head, an old woman clutches her face, the gaoler points, and two prisoners watch through a barred window at the right. The figures occupy only the lower half of a canvas more than five metres wide; above them is bare stone wall and a great arched doorway. Caravaggio painted it in Malta in 1608 for the oratory of the Knights of St John in Valletta, where it still hangs, and signed it in the blood that runs from the saint's neck, the only signature on any of his works. It was painted during the few months he spent as a knight before his imprisonment and flight from the island, and it is the largest picture he ever made.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
An executioner bending over a fallen saint in a vast bare courtyard, in red, ochre and stone, a very wide, severe painting for a study, hallway or office at 24×36 in black. Stone grey, deep ochre or charcoal walls suit its emptiness; pair it with The Taking of Christ.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Baroque painting
- Era
- 17th century (1608)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, study or library, home office, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
