Forced to flee Rome after committing murder, from 1606 to 1607, Caravaggio sojourned in Naples under the protection of the Colonna Family. However, even as a fugitive, Caravaggio did not remain idle. While there, he painted “The Flagellation of Christ” (1607) for the Neapolitan church of San Domenico Maggiore. An intensely dark, brutal scene, “The Flagellation of Christ,” depicts Christ being flogged moments before his crucifixion. The assailants emerge from the shadows to brutalize Christ in the center, illuminated by a vertical shaft of light. The strong contrast of light and dark – or tenebrism – heightens the drama and emotionality of the scene. This masterpiece is now on view at the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, Italy.