Caravaggio’s “John the Baptist Reclining,” which is thought to be his final painting, is comparatively little known to his other works. This is because disagreements about the painting’s attribution to the great master that developed after Caravaggio’s passing.
About John The Baptist painting
The painting was found in Argentina and is currently housed in a Munich private collection. In addition to the style and subject matter, there are other factors that lead some people to believe the painting may be by Caravaggio, including the fact that the bishop of Caserta informed Cardinal Scipione Borghese in July 1610 that three of the artist’s works were housed in the Marchesa of Caravaggio’s Naples mansion. They consisted of a Magdalene and two Saint Johns.
The paintings were meant for Borghese, and he gave the Marchesa instructions to take care of them on his behalf. Unfortunately for Borghese, the head of the Knights of Malta in Naples took possession of them two days later on the pretext that Caravaggio was a knight of the Order and all of his property belonged to the Knights. However, everyone involved must have known this to be untrue because Caravaggio had been expelled from the Order in 1608.
After learning about the situation, the recently appointed Spanish Viceroy of Naples wrote to the head of the Spanish garrison in Porto Ercole to inform him that the Knights had no right to the paintings and should return them to the Viceroy, “in particular the painting of John the Baptist.” What happened to the different paintings after that is unknown with certainty.
The “Youth with a Ram” was awarded to Cardinal Borghese, but it took longer than a year. The second Baptist and the Magdalene painting both vanished, but it is possible, though not confirmed, that the Viceroy was able to save the other Baptist.
He probably would have brought it back to Spain, where it might have traveled to South America. However, all of this is just conjecture; it should be noted that no one is certain of the precise identities of the paintings in question.
