The Abbey of Saint John (German: Benediktinerinnenkloster St. Johann; Romansh: Claustra benedictina da Son Jon) is an early medieval Benedictine monastery in the Swiss municipality of Val Müstair, in the Canton of Graubünden.

The Carolingian Renaissance is deeply in debt to the success of Charlemagne as a king and patron, and the driving force behind what we see in St John Abbey.

Throughout history, art, education and leisure have all only truly thrived in times of peace, although war is often the most important factor for technological change.

In the early Middle Ages the constant conflicts between the Frankish Kingdoms hindered the artistic progress previously enjoyed by the Romans when their empire was at its height.

Under Charlemagne's prosperous kingship, the introduction of a new peacetime monastic order began, paving the way for the frescos and architecture seen at Saint John Abbey.

The monasteries served as a training ground for missionaries, who were to be sent to the newly conquered areas of his empire and effect their conversion to Christianity.

[6] On 20 January 1499, Habsburg troops occupied the surrounding valley and plundered the convent, but were soon driven back by the forces of the Three Leagues at the Battle of Calven.

These raids quickly escalated into the Swabian War, which ended in September 1499 with the Treaty of Basel granting virtual independence to the Swiss Confederacy.

Shortly thereafter, in 1524 and 1526, through the Ilanzer Articles, the League of God's House was able to weaken the temporal power of the bishop, which had the indirect effect of reducing the income of the abbey.

[7] The figures seen in the frescos of St Johns are of balanced and symmetrical composition, and throughout the church this creates a sense of story and rhythm.

There is a clear link between the frescos seen here in Mustair and those seen in the Lombard Church of Santa Maria foris portas di Castelseprio, has led some academics to believe that the artist were either local or at the very least familiar with the work seen there.

These stories hold greater implications for the modern day viewer as it shows what was considered to be the most important elements of Christianity at the time.

[10] The paintings were done in a limited range of colors including ochre, red, and brown and help in the "comprehension of the evolution of certain Christian iconographic themes, like that of the last judgment".

The apses and the eastern wall were repainted in the 12th century with Romanesque frescoes showing a variety of biblical themes including the dinner of Herod Antipas (where the dancing of Herodias' daughter leads to the execution of John the Baptist[11]), the wise and foolish virgins, apostles, and St.