by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
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Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
Boy Bitten by a Lizard: Caravaggio's London Painting
Caravaggio's Boy Bitten by a Lizard catches a youth in the instant he jerks back from an unseen danger among fruit and flowers. A lizard clings to his finger; his mouth opens and his free hand rises. The National Gallery in London owns this canvas, NG6504, and dates it to about 1594–95. The “1596” in this page's inherited address is an older label, not the owner's current object date.[1]
Another, closely related version is in the Fondazione Roberto Longhi, Florence. The National Gallery calls it a high-quality replica considered by many scholars to be another Caravaggio. That qualified Florence attribution should not weaken the clear identity of London's accepted painting, nor should findings about this canvas be assigned to the Florence one without evidence.[1][2]
Caravaggio in context
The Cardsharps
c.1595Calling of Saint Matthew
1599–1600Supper at Emmaus
1601At a Glance
- ArtistMichelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio[1]
- TitleBoy bitten by a Lizard[1]
- Dateabout 1594–95 in the National Gallery's current catalogue; URL suffix “1596” is inherited[1]
- Mediumoil on canvas[1]
- Dimensions66 × 49.5 cm, height × width[1]
- CollectionNational Gallery, London, NG6504; acquired 1986[1]
- Related versionFondazione Roberto Longhi, Florence, 65.8 × 52.3 cm, attribution debated[1][2]
Contents
- A Moment of Surprise
- The Fruit, Flowers and Glass Vase
- Possible Meanings
- What Technical Study Found
- Provenance and Acquisition
- The Florence Version
- Why the Date in the URL Differs
- Frequently Asked Questions
A Moment of Surprise
The boy's hand has reached toward the foreground arrangement. A tiny lizard bites him, and his face and body recoil. Caravaggio makes the reaction the main event rather than painting a static display of fruit. The National Gallery calls such a sudden moment of action unusual in a late sixteenth-century picture, and notes how the work helped bring the artist attention in Rome.[1]
The physical sequence is easy to trace. The bitten finger sits among foliage, the arm leads to the startled face, and the free hand rises as the shoulders twist. The lizard is small enough that a first glance may register the shout before its cause. This delayed discovery makes the viewer repeat the boy's attention: look at the beautiful still life, then notice the danger inside it.
The face is near the upper part of a narrow canvas. The body turns out of a loose white shirt, leaving a shoulder exposed. Darker leaves and fruit cluster below. The contrast between flesh and vegetation gives both elements force. It is neither merely a portrait nor merely a still life; the two depend on each other for the action.[1]
The Fruit, Flowers and Glass Vase
The National Gallery identifies cherries and plums in the foreground, and a rose and sprig of jasmine in a glass vase. The curved glass contains a small reflection of a room. These observations are specific to its NG6504 canvas; the reflection is easy to miss in a small reproduction.[1]
The arrangement is attractive before it becomes dangerous. Fruit suggests ripeness; flowers suggest fragrance and delicacy; glass displays the painter's ability to handle transparency and reflected light. A lizard among the leaves changes the meaning of the hand reaching toward them. The painting does not require a written warning in order to tell the story.
The vase can also show how carefully one must distinguish close looking from overclaiming. Its reflection may record a real studio arrangement, but it does not automatically prove the exact shape of Caravaggio's room or the use of a particular optical device. The painting is evidence of a painted reflection. Further conclusions need technical or documentary support.[1][3]
Possible Meanings
The National Gallery says the picture's precise meaning is uncertain. It suggests several possibilities: the pain that can follow attraction or love, the transience of beauty associated with a rose, or the sense of touch. None is presented as an established code. The immediate visual story can support more than one symbolic reading.[1]
The youth's rose behind an ear, exposed shoulder and surprised expression have encouraged erotic or theatrical interpretations. They may be useful, but the painting does not come with Caravaggio's explanatory text. No single moral is established by the fruit and flowers alone.
The National Gallery's 2025 account quotes Baglione's later reaction that a viewer could almost hear the boy scream. This is a biographer's description, written after Caravaggio's death, not a quotation from the artist. It captures the work's sense of immediacy while reminding us that historical reception and painterly intent are different categories.[4]
What Technical Study Found
Larry Keith's article in the National Gallery Technical Bulletin examined NG6504 alongside two other London Caravaggios. It reports a warm transparent ground used as a middle tone in areas of flesh and hair, egg tempera in some white paint, and walnut oil elsewhere. It also discusses incised lines and broad preparatory brush marks. These are material observations from this owner museum's study, not a blanket description of every Caravaggio canvas.[3]
The findings complicate a familiar slogan that Caravaggio worked with no preparation. A painter can work directly and rapidly from a model while also setting positions with brush marks or incisions and making choices about grounds and media. The painting-technique guide compares such object-level studies across several paintings instead of declaring one universal method.[3]
Technical evidence helps describe how the visible picture was built. It does not settle the painting's allegory or identify the sitter. Nor can it authenticate the Florence version by proxy. That canvas would need its own examination and comparison if the precise material relationship is to be argued.[2][3]
Provenance and Acquisition
The National Gallery's object record traces the painting with certainty to Sir Paul Methuen's collection and then, by 1809, to Viscount Harcourt at Nuneham. In the nineteenth century it carried an attribution to Murillo. It was sold at Christie's in 1948, later belonged to film producer Vincent Korda, and was bought by the National Gallery in 1986 with support from the J. Paul Getty Jr Endowment Fund.[1]
That history shows that even a famous Caravaggio can travel through changing names. The Murillo attribution belongs to a phase of reception and cataloguing; it is not evidence that the present museum regards the picture as Murillo. Conversely, the early documentary record is not a continuous account back to Caravaggio's studio. A measured provenance section identifies the first secure points and the later transfers without inventing missing owners.
The museum currently lists the painting in Room 32. Room placement is useful to a visitor but can change, especially during loans and displays. The durable identity for a page is NG6504. It keeps the painting distinct from both the Florence version and the National Gallery's later Caravaggios, The Supper at Emmaus and Salome Receives the Head of John the Baptist.[1]
The Florence Version
The Fondazione Roberto Longhi holds another canvas of the same subject, 65.8 × 52.3 cm. Its own record preserves multiple historical date proposals. The National Gallery describes it as a high-quality replica, considered by many to have been painted by Caravaggio himself. This wording is important: there is a serious argument for another autograph work, but the position is qualified.[1][2]
The two existing site images were visually compared with the National Gallery's owner image. The darker image currently assigned to this -1596/ route matches NG6504. The warmer, brighter image on the Florence page corresponds to the Longhi version. That avoids the most damaging form of page error: giving London provenance and technical results to a photograph of Florence or vice versa.
Comparison can focus on framing, colour, the glass vase, fruit and the boy's pose. Small web images may obscure the handling of paint and distort tones.
Why the Date in the URL Differs
This page's address contains “1596,” but the National Gallery now dates NG6504 to about 1594–95. The older date in the address is an inherited identifier; the museum's current catalogue date describes the painting.[1]
Revised museum dates need not erase a familiar address. What matters for understanding the work is the current catalogue date and the reason the two numbers differ.
The Florence object's date is less settled still. The Longhi Foundation record preserves various scholarly datings, including 1592–93 and c.1597. These should not be forced into London's 1594–95 range merely because the pictures resemble each other. Each page has its own object and source.[1][2]
Explore the Caravaggio collection
| Name | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Adoration of the Shepherds by Caravaggio: The Messina Nativity | 1608–09; precise order relative to Resurrection of Lazarus remains unresolved | Artwork |
| Amor Victorious by Caravaggio | 1601–02 in the Berlin owner record | Artwork |
| Bacchus by Caravaggio: The Uffizi Painting | about 1598, according to the Uffizi | Artwork |
| Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio | after 1597, probably around the turn of the seventeenth century, according to the Ambrosiana | Artwork |
| Boy Bitten by a Lizard: Caravaggio's London Painting | about 1594–95 in the National Gallery's current catalogue; URL suffix “1596” is inherited | Artwork |
| Boy Bitten by a Lizard: The Florence Version Attributed to Caravaggio | disputed; Longhi's catalogue record preserves historical 1592–93 and other proposed ranges, including c.1597 | Artwork |
| Boy Peeling Fruit by Caravaggio: The Royal Collection Painting | about 1592–93 in the owner's current exhibition record | Artwork |
| Boy Peeling Fruit in Florence: A Derivation from Caravaggio | — | Artwork |
| Boy with a Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio | about 1595 in the Galleria Borghese catalogue | Artwork |
| Caravaggio Paintings in Rome: Churches, Museums and a Practical Route | — | Guide |
| Caravaggio Quotes: What the Documents Actually Record | — | Guide |
| Caravaggio's Lute Player: The Del Monte Painting Once Shown at the Met | about 1596–97 in the Met catalogue | Artwork |
| Caravaggio's Painting Technique: Grounds, Incisions, Revisions and Light | — | Guide |
| Christ at the Column by Caravaggio: The Rouen Flagellation | c.1606 in the owner caption; owner prose gives 1606–07 | Artwork |
| Christ on the Mount of Olives by Caravaggio: The Lost Berlin Painting | — | Artwork |
| Conversion on the Way to Damascus by Caravaggio | about 1601 in the Roma Capitale church record | Artwork |
| Crowning with Thorns by Caravaggio: The Vienna Painting | about 1603 in the 2019 KHM record; “1607” is an inherited URL suffix | Artwork |
| Crowning with Thorns in Prato: Attributed to Caravaggio | about 1602–03 in the collection presentation | Artwork |
| David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio: The Borghese Painting | 1606–07 or 1609–10 in the Galleria Borghese catalogue; the later Naples period is favoured by many scholars, while the owner keeps the question open | Artwork |
| David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio: The Prado Painting | about 1600 in Prado material; “1599” survives only in the legacy URL | Artwork |
| David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio: The Vienna Painting | about 1600–01 in the KHM's 2019 exhibition record; “1607” is a legacy route label | Artwork |
| Did Caravaggio Make Drawings? What Survives and What Paintings Reveal | — | Guide |
| Ecce Homo: Caravaggio's Madrid Rediscovery and the Genoa Painting | — | Artwork |
| John the Baptist in Caravaggio's Paintings: A Guide to the Different Versions | — | Artwork |
| Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio | beginning of the seventeenth century in the owning museum's account; about 1599–1600 in the Kimbell's 2025 loan label; around 1602 in one specialist catalogue | Artwork |
| Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto: Caravaggio's Ludovisi Ceiling | about 1597; the archive connects the work with Cardinal del Monte's 1597 commission | Artwork |
| Madonna and Child with Saint Anne by Caravaggio: The Palafrenieri Altarpiece | 1605 in the Galleria Borghese object field; completed and delivered by 8 April 1606 | Artwork |
| Madonna of Loreto by Caravaggio: The Pilgrims at Sant'Agostino | broadly c.1604–06; institutional records differ slightly in their starting year | Artwork |
| Madonna of the Rosary by Caravaggio: The Vienna Altarpiece | around 1603 in the Kunsthistorisches Museum's object record | Artwork |
| Martha and Mary Magdalene by Caravaggio: The Detroit Painting | about 1598 in the Detroit Institute of Arts record | Artwork |
| Medusa by Caravaggio: The Uffizi Painted Shield | 1596–98 in the Uffizi's virtual exhibition; specialist research reports the shield delivered to the Medici wardrobe by 7 September 1598 | Artwork |
| Narcissus, Attributed to Caravaggio | dependent on attribution; the Zeri catalogue gives a broad 1610–50 range under Spadarino | Artwork |
| Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence: Caravaggio's Missing Painting | somewhere in 1600–09 in the parliamentary report; a specific 1609 execution and place remain debated | Artwork |
| Penitent Mary Magdalene by Caravaggio | 1597 in the owner's catalogue, during Caravaggio's early Roman activity | Artwork |
| Portrait of a Courtesan: Caravaggio's Lost Berlin Portrait | Berlin's data field says c.1590, while its own text compares a Caravaggio work of c.1598; precise date unresolved | Artwork |
| Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and His Page by Caravaggio | — | Artwork |
| Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli? Caravaggio's Pitti Knight of Malta | 1608 in the Restituzioni object heading; within Caravaggio's Malta period | Artwork |
| Portrait of Maffeo Barberini: The Seated Corsini Painting | c.1596–97 in the national catalogue | Artwork |
| Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini: Caravaggio's Newly Acquired Painting | around the late 1590s / age thirty; “1598” in the inherited address is approximate, not an exact document date | Artwork |
| Portrait of Pope Paul V: A Caravaggio Attribution and a Borghese Copy | — | Artwork |
| Prints After Caravaggio: Who Made Them and What They Show | — | Guide |
| Reclining Saint John the Baptist: A Disputed Caravaggio Attribution | often proposed for the artist's final years; the later museum list does not give a precise year. | Artwork |
| Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Caravaggio | about 1597 in the owner's catalogue | Artwork |
| Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Caravaggio: The Thyssen Painting | about 1598–99 in the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza catalogue | Artwork |
| Saint Francis in Meditation by Caravaggio: The Cremona Painting | 1603–06 in the owner account; c.1605–06 in a KHM exhibition caption | Artwork |
| Saint Francis in Prayer: Caravaggio's Carpineto Painting | 1606 in a 2016–17 exhibition work list | Artwork |
| Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy by Caravaggio | c.1595–96 in the owner wall text | Artwork |
| Saint Jerome in Meditation: Caravaggio's Montserrat Painting | 1605 in the owner record; an owner publication reports scholarship placing it about 1605–06 | Artwork |
| Saint Jerome Writing by Caravaggio: The Borghese Painting | c.1606 in the owner catalogue; the “1605” URL suffix is inherited | Artwork |
| Saint Jerome Writing by Caravaggio: The Malta Painting | around 1607–08; foundation dates Malaspina's commission to 1608 | Artwork |
| Saint John in the Wilderness at Toledo Cathedral | exact 1598 not established by the cited cathedral account. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at Galleria Corsini, Rome | about 1606 in the national record; older proposals ranged from the late 1590s onward. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at the Capitoline Museums, Rome | 1602. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at the Galleria Borghese | 1609–10 in the current Borghese record. | Artwork |
| Saint John the Baptist at the Spring: The Bonello Painting in Malta | early seventeenth century in the institutional account; a precise 1608 is not established there. | Artwork |
| Saint Matthew and the Angel: Caravaggio's Lost First Altarpiece | — | Artwork |
| Salome Receives the Head of John the Baptist: Caravaggio's London Painting | about 1609–10, likely late Naples period in the Gallery's account | Artwork |
| Salome with the Head of John the Baptist: Caravaggio's Madrid Painting | — | Artwork |
| Sleeping Cupid by Caravaggio: The Painting Made in Malta | about 1608, Malta period | Artwork |
| Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge: Is It by Caravaggio? | — | Artwork |
| Supper at Emmaus (1606): Caravaggio's Brera Painting | — | Artwork |
| The Annunciation by Caravaggio in Nancy | c.1607–10 in the collection record; 1608–10 in the museum's restoration account | Artwork |
| The Basel Saint John the Baptist: Once Labelled Caravaggio, Now Maíno | about 1608–10 in that schedule, rather than the legacy URL's 1600. | Artwork |
| The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist by Caravaggio | about 1608; installed in the Oratory on 29 August 1608 | Artwork |
| The Burial of Saint Lucy by Caravaggio in Syracuse | 1608, during Caravaggio's Syracuse stay | Artwork |
| The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio | about 1599–1600 | Artwork |
| The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew by Caravaggio | about 1602–04 in the Trust's object text | Artwork |
| The Cardsharps by Caravaggio | about 1596–97 in the Kimbell's current object record | Artwork |
| The Conversion of Saint Paul: Caravaggio's Odescalchi Panel | commissioned in 1600; painted around 1600–01 | Artwork |
| The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew by Caravaggio | 1606–07 | Artwork |
| The Crucifixion of Saint Peter by Caravaggio | about 1601 | Artwork |
| The Death of the Virgin by Caravaggio | commissioned 1601; completed late 1605 or early 1606, according to the Louvre | Artwork |
| The Denial of Saint Peter by Caravaggio | 1610 | Artwork |
| The Doria Pamphilj Saint John the Baptist: A Second Youth with a Ram | linked compositionally to the Capitoline 1602 picture; an exact production year for this canvas is not established by the owner pages used here. | Artwork |
| The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio: The Vatican Deposition | about 1600–04 in Vatican Museums publication material | Artwork |
| The Flagellation of Christ by Caravaggio: The Capodimonte Altarpiece | around 1607, in the first Naples period | Artwork |
| The Fortune Teller by Caravaggio: The Louvre Version and Its Roman Counterpart | — | Artwork |
| The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist by Caravaggio | early 1600s in the Met catalogue; no more exact owner date asserted here | Artwork |
| The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio | about 1601 in the SPSG presentation | Artwork |
| The Inspiration of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio | usually 1602; also catalogued 1602–03, for the installed final altarpiece | Artwork |
| The Lute Player by Caravaggio: The Hermitage Painting | about 1596 in the Hermitage collection publication; the Hermitage Friends restoration page gives about 1595–96 | Artwork |
| The Magdalen in Ecstasy: Caravaggio, Copies and a Disputed Original | — | Artwork |
| The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio | 1599–1600; unveiled with The Calling in 1600 | Artwork |
| The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Caravaggio | — | Artwork |
| The Musicians by Caravaggio | 1597 | Artwork |
| The Resurrection of Lazarus by Caravaggio in Messina | 1609; delivered 10 June 1609 in the owner account | Artwork |
| The Sacrifice of Isaac by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi: A Former Caravaggio Attribution | about 1615–17 in the Nicholas Hall catalogue; “1598” is an inherited URL label, not the accepted date | Artwork |
| The Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio: The Uffizi Painting | about 1603 in the Uffizi catalogue | Artwork |
| The Seven Works of Mercy by Caravaggio | 1606–07, according to the Pio Monte | Artwork |
| The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio: The London Painting | 1601 | Artwork |
| The Taking of Christ by Caravaggio | 1602 | Artwork |
| The Toulouse *Judith Beheading Holofernes*: A Caravaggio Attribution Debate | c.1606–07 if identified with the recorded Naples work; that identification is debated | Artwork |
| Young Sick Bacchus by Caravaggio | about 1595 in the Galleria Borghese catalogue | Artwork |
| Youth with a Ram: Why Caravaggio's Saint John Looks So Unusual | — | Artwork |
No matching pages found.
Discussion
Share a close observation about Boy Bitten by a Lizard or a source that clarifies its history.
Which detail changes your reading?
Is there a collection record or document worth comparing?
What remains uncertain?
Join the Conversation
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Boy Bitten by a Lizard is in London?
When did Caravaggio paint the London picture?
The National Gallery dates it to about 1594–95. “1596” in the inherited URL should not be read as its current catalogue date.[1]
What bites the boy?
A small lizard in the fruit and flowers bites his finger, prompting his recoil. The museum identifies the animal and the moment clearly.[1]
Does the painting have a fixed symbolic meaning?
No single reading is established. The National Gallery suggests possible links with the pain of love, the transience of beauty and the sense of touch.[1]
References
- National Gallery, London, Caravaggio, Boy bitten by a Lizard, NG6504, owner object record, interpretation and provenance.
- Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell'Arte Roberto Longhi, Ragazzo morso da un ramarro, Florence version record.
- Larry Keith, “Three Paintings by Caravaggio,” National Gallery Technical Bulletin 19, analysis of NG6504 and other London canvases.
- National Gallery, London, “Picture of the month: June 2025”, historical reception and possible meanings.
