She wonders why, suggests some possibilities, and then, inspired by the Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist (earlier this week), she considers Caravaggio’s treatment of the subject, and then moves into a reflection on her two artists of the day:
Caravaggio’s painting is particularly striking when considered in light of the Picasso painting above. Known as the "bad boy" of art, Caravaggio certainly had a more problematic personal life than Picasso. After twenty years of general troublemaking in Rome, Caravaggio had to flee to Malta as a refugee from justice after having murdered a man over a tennis bet.
Caravaggio did not live an exemplary Christian life, yet in his art, he succeeded in spurring others to do so. He did not reject the Church and her teachings because he failed to live up to them; instead he showed the way, the pitfalls and the difficulties of accepting the Christian challenge.
The suffering body of John lying in his own blood and about to be decapitated is not your typical heroic portrayal, yet Caravaggio’s use of light shows how the saint has transcended earthly suffering, through his acceptance of this humiliating death at the hands of a capricious girl.
Great Christian artists don’t use art to justify their personal shortcomings or celebrate their self-indulgent lifestyles. They express the beauty of the human struggle to achieve holiness.
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