Italiano 
English 
Inside a room stands a middle-aged man, portrayed full-length and dressed in armor. He turns his gaze toward an undefined point outside the frame, while the young man accompanying him, handing him the helmet, is turned toward the viewer and proudly displays the white cross of the Knights of Malta on his black tunic.
The clothing and weapons are described in great detail, from the reflections cast by the metallic finishes of the cuirass, to the helmet's feathers, all the way to the shoes and the lace on the sleeve of the shirt visible at the left wrist of the blond boy in the foreground.
In the features of the warrior it is possible to recognize Alof de Wignacourt, Grand Master of the Knights of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem from 1601 until his death in 1622. Known for the important projects he supported, such as the construction of the Valletta aqueduct, he was also Caravaggio's protector on the island; the painter portrayed him in this canvas with his ceremonial armor, still preserved today in the Palace Armoury of the capital.
According to the painter and biographer Giovanni Baglione, Merisi earned the title of knight precisely following the creation of Wignacourt's effigy, as he writes: «Later he went to Malta, and introduced to pay reverence to the Grand Master, he portrayed him; whereupon that Prince, as a sign of merit, gave him the habit of St. John and made him a Knight of Grace».
The painting soon reached France, where indeed it was recorded in 1670 in the collections of Louis XIV, contravening all the rules governing the inheritance of the Grand Master's possessions, which by right belonged to the Order.
