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Abstract: In his ambitious strife for success and public recognition Giovanni Baglione sought to demonstrate that his facilities to some extent were due to his descent. Especially in his chapel in Santi Cosma e Damiano, which he obtained in 1637, Baglione alludes to the heroic deeds of his ancestors which allegedly originated from Perugia. With caution, yet also explicitly, Baglione even claimed to be a kinsman of the well-known Umbrian noble dynasty of the Baglioni. There is evidence that he evolved this attitude already during his adolescence. However, Baglione’s self-fashioning was far from historic truth. It rather appears to have been a deliberate fabrication, born out of a sentiment of social inferiority and an iron will to succeed. In fact, new documentary findings demonstrate that Giovanni was of rather humble origins being the descendant of a dynasty of butchers originating from Florence. Only the early death of his father Tommaso in the summer of 1580 saved Giovanni from becoming a butcher himself. At that time the family name already was Baglione, but this was only an adaption the grandfather’s nickname. The article furthermore reconstructs the subsequent steps in Giovanni’s constant ascent, focusing on the social implications of his marriage with Aurelia della Torre in July 1595 as well as on the early death of his younger brother Jacopo who died during a military campaign of papal troops in Hungary at the end of the same year. The loss reinforced Baglione’s relation to Tommaso Salini who had joined Jacopo in his fatal adventure and from than on became Giovanni’s confidant. The new materials concerning Baglione’s early career and character contribute to a better comprehension of the personality of Caravaggio’s most distinguished adversary.