The painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio depicting St Jerome Writing forms part of the artist’s output during his short stay in Malta. 

The attention this painting deserves as a masterpiece in its own right is often overshadowed by the monumental painting depicting the Beheading of St John the Baptist that Caravaggio also produced during his stay here. 

Former museums’ director Fr Marius Zerafa OP will tomorrow be giving a talk about the painting, recounting the intriguing story of its theft, retrieval and restoration. 

The Embassy of Italy has brought two experts to help out in the investigation and its retrieval. It also provided a military plane to take the painting to Rome for restoration. 

Fr Zerafa will also talk about the Beheading and how, in this case as well, two Italian military vessels transported the painting to Florence for restoration.  On this special occasion, he will donate one of his latest works – a full-size copy of Caravaggio’s St Jerome to the Italian Cultural Institute, as a token of appreciation for the embassy’s cooperation for the restoration of both paintings.

Correction September 16: A previous version featured a different painting of Caravaggio's with the same title. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.