In May of 1610, Caravaggio was in Naples working on a a commission. Two months later, the 38-year-old artist mysteriously died, making that painting—The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula—his last. A scene of violence and guilt in his trademark chiaroscuro style, Caravaggio zooms in on dirty hands, a pierced breast; he even includes his own helpless self-portrait peering in from behind. The artist’s final years were tumultuous. He fled Rome after murdering a local pimp in a fight. He was then forced out of Malta for assaulting a knight. The National Gallery places this final work in a unique context, framing within it the troubled artist’s veer toward death. —Clara Molot