Baroque · 17th century
Hand-painted reproduction after
Caravaggio
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
These sizes keep the painting’s true proportions. Want a different shape? Email us and we’ll adapt it.
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What happens next
The painting
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
Dagger drawn, the executioner moves to finish beheading John the Baptist as a servant girl waits with a golden platter for the head, a jailer gives orders and another woman, perhaps Herodias, stands by in shock. Caravaggio signed it in the red blood running from the saint's cut throat, the only signature on any of his works. The Knights of Malta ordered it as an altarpiece. After he escaped from prison, the Order expelled him, about six months after his induction, in a ceremony held before this very canvas.Caravaggio painted this for the Knights of Malta in Valletta in 1608, and it is still in the oratory of St John's Co-Cathedral there. The execution takes place in a bare prison yard: John lies on the ground, the executioner reaches for his knife, a servant holds out the dish, and two prisoners watch through a barred window. It is the only painting Caravaggio ever signed, and he wrote his name in the blood running from the saint's neck. The original is over five metres wide.Hand-painted in oil to your size once you order, with a photo to approve before it ships.
About the original
- Painted in
- 1608
- Original size
- 361 × 520 cm (142.1 × 204.7 in)
- Where it hangs
- St. John's Co-Cathedral
Detail
Specification
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Painting size | |
| Framed size | |
| Frame | |
| Orientation | |
| Dominant colour | |
| Arrives | Rolled, ready for local framing |
| Packed | Rolled in a protective tube |
| Turnaround | 3 to 4 weeks, then delivery |
The hand behind it
Caravaggio
Caravaggio trained in Milan and arrived in Rome with nothing, painting fruit and boys with flowers for dealers until a cardinal took him up. The commission that changed everything was the Contarelli Chapel, finished around 1600. Nobody had lit a religious scene like that before. He worked without preparatory drawings, straight onto primed canvas, with models pulled off the street. Saints have dirty feet in his pictures. Clients occasionally refused delivery on those grounds. He was also violent. There are court records for assault, for throwing a plate of artichokes at a waiter, for carrying a sword without a licence. In 1606 he killed a man over what may have been a wager and fled Rome with a price on his head. The last four years were spent on the run through Naples, Malta and Sicily, painting fast and getting darker. He died in 1610 on the coast north of Rome, aged thirty-eight, trying to reach a pardon that had already been granted.
All paintings by this artistLooking after it
Care and hanging
Before you buy
Questions
How is the finish priced?
The price you see is the painting at the size you chose, in the finish you chose, and it updates as you change either. Rolled arrives in a protective tube, ready for local framing. Stretched arrives on wooden bars, ready to hang. Framed arrives in its frame, ready to hang. Stretched and framed go up to 60 × 90 cm (24 × 36 in); larger paintings travel rolled.
How long does it take?
Painting begins after you order and takes 3 to 4 weeks, including drying and the photo you approve. Delivery then takes 4 to 10 working days to most countries. More on delivery times.
Will it look exactly like the original?
It is painted by a person, so no. Brushwork varies between copies, which is the difference between a painting and a poster.
What if I do not like it?
Ninety days from delivery, full refund.
Can I get The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in a different size or shape?
Yes. The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist is painted to the size you want, in the original’s proportions, or adapted to another shape on request. Stretched and framed go up to 60 x 90 cm (24 x 36 in). The original measures 361 x 520 cm (142.1 x 204.7 in).
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