Caravaggio's 'Capture of Christ' at Risk in Ukraine's Odessa Museum

Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko has appealed for a no-fly zone, citing the destruction of churches, cathedrals, and museums by Russian missiles. Among the threatened masterpieces is Caravaggio's 'Capture of Christ' (1602), housed in the Odessa Museum alongside works by Rubens, Gerard David, and Guercino. The painting survived revolutions and wars, including WWII when it disappeared after Odessa was bombed and occupied, only to reappear in June 1945 when the Roman Catholic Church returned it to Soviet authorities. Originally purchased in Paris in 1870 by collector Alexander Petrovich Basilewsky, it was donated to Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich Romanov, brother of the tsar, and later transferred to the Ukrainian museum after revolutionary upheavals. The article expresses hope that the painting's sacred aura may protect Ukraine.