St John’s Co-Cathedral and ‘The Antichrist of Painting’

13 years ago
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by David
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St Johns Co-Cathedral is right up there among the most worthwhile buildings to visit in Malta, particularly impressive once you go inside. Among other things, it is home to what is generally regarded as one of the artist Caravaggios best paintings. He spent a short time in Malta whilst on the run from the law after accidentally killing someone in a duel, and so a few of his paintings have ended up here as a result. Man kills another man 400 years ago in a Roman backstreet, and beautiful paintings hang on Maltese church wall today. That’s life.

St Johns Co-Cathedral was built by the Knights of Malta at the end of the 1500’s to be the official church for the order. While the outside of the cathedral looks relatively unimpressive, it’s a different story once you get inside. The walls and ceiling are ornately carved and illuminated by paintings and statues. Even the floors are impressive, sections of which commemorate the crypts of former Grand Masters of the order.

Have you ever seen the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris? If you haven’t, don’t bother, it looks just like that image you have of it in your head. And also you won’t have to contend with 40 people taking terrible photos of it through a thick plexiglass screen, so they can show their unimpressed friends on facebook. The ‘Mona Lisa’ may be the most famous painting in the world but it’s certainly not the best. It only acquired it’s fame in the early 20th century by virtue of being stolen and so appeared in papers all over the world. I don’t even buy that stuff about ‘capturing her enigmatic smile’. I reckon that’s something art critics came up with when everyone started asking them what the big deal about it was.

On the other hand, a few years ago I went to the National Gallery of Ireland and saw ‘The Taking of Christ’ by Caravaggio, the prized exhibit of the Irish collection. You don’t need to be an art expert to recognise that it’s something a little bit special, and you also don’t need to elbow people out of the way to see it. The same goes for ‘The Beheading of St John the Baptist’ in Valletta, which is one of the most viscerally impressive paintings you will ever see. Apart from being generally pretty awe-worthy, this painting is notable for a couple of other reasons: It’s Caravaggio’s largest work; it’s the only one he signed his name to; and it portrays a particularly gruesome scene, as the name might suggest.

Take the advice of someone who only knows Donatello as a cartoon turtle and Raphael as the Manchester United defender, and go check this place out. You might become a convert too.