Boy Bitten by a Lizard

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, c. 1595

Oil on canvas, 66 × 49.5 cm

National Gallery, London

Room I · The Early Years (c. 1592–1597)

Boy Bitten by a Lizard, Caravaggio, c. 1595 — Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

A boy snatches back his hand, bitten by a lizard hidden among the fruit: Caravaggio tries to catch a single instant of shock and pain. A window is reflected in the water carafe. A second version is in the Fondazione Longhi in Florence.