Boy Bitten by a Lizard

A closer look

Painting a fleeting expression was a new challenge, and Caravaggio met it with dramatic directional light that picks out the bare shoulder and contorted face. Beside the boy, a glass vase holds a rose and jasmine; its transparent surface reflects a window, an early demonstration of the painter's skill at still life. The scene may carry a moral: hidden in every pleasure, symbolised by the fruit and flowers, lies a sting, perhaps that of love. Caravaggio painted two versions; the other is in Florence.