Saint John the Baptist in a decorative border, after Michelangelo's 'The Last Judgment' fresco in the Sistine Chapel 1591

This engraving of Saint John the Baptist, within an elaborate decorative border, was made by Cherubino Alberti, after Michelangelo’s fresco in the Sistine Chapel. We know that this print was made in Rome around 1591 because that is what is written on the bottom right corner. It demonstrates the power of the Vatican and the Catholic Church as a cultural institution, which defined the norms and the values of the time. The inscription ‘Nuda Veritas’ – ‘Naked Truth’ – hints at the politics of imagery. Here, St. John is presented as a powerful, muscular figure, and this idealisation would have been associated with ideas of male beauty in Ancient Greece and Rome. However, his nudity also relates to truth – that is, the idea that truth is unadorned, simple and pure. As historians, we need to consider what sources we could use to understand this image better. We would want to research the political connotations of nudity in Renaissance art, the relationship between the Medici family and the Catholic Church, and the role played by the Vatican in promoting a certain vision of Christian truth.