"[1] Jonathan Jones has described The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist as one of the ten greatest works of art of all time: "Death and human cruelty are laid bare by this masterpiece, as its scale and shadow daunt and possess the mind.

[4] The image depicts the execution of John the Baptist while nearby a servant girl stands with a golden platter to receive his head.

Another woman, who has been identified as Herodias or simply a bystander who realizes that the execution is wrong,[5][6] stands by in shock while a jailer issues instructions and the executioner draws his dagger to finish the beheading.

The scene, popular with Italian artists in general and with Caravaggio himself, is not directly inspired by the Bible, but rather by the tale as related in the Golden Legend.

[13] The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist has been badly damaged,[14] though it did receive some restoration in the 1950s prior to a notable exhibition in Rome in 1955–56, which brought the work considerable attention.