Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit

Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit resides at Milan's Biblioteca Ambrosiana, its home since its acquisition by the Cardinal and his donation of his holdings in 1618. The piece was likely acquired directly from the Lombard painter by the Cardinal based on the intercession of one of Caravaggio's patrons.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Basket of Fruit,
1597-1600 (Biblioteca Ambrosiano, Milan; viewed
in situ, 4/17/26)

There is a lack of consensus as to the painting’s actual date. The home institution dates it to between 1597 and 1600 while Spine claims 1596 and Pugliosi 1601. Jannick (Caravaggio’s Fruit … short.purdue.edu, 2010) sides with the 1601 date because “The fruit baskets in both Summer at Emmaus and Still Life with a Basket of Fruit are the same, perched precariously on the edge of a table, but with a different collection of fruit. … I suggest that this may have been (either) a preparatory painting for the larger Supper at Emmaus …”

In the absence of any earth-shattering, contravening information, I will go with the date stipulated by the organization which should, arguably, know more about the painting than anyone else.

The painting showcases a selection of fresh and withered fruit and leaves that gradually dessicate, all held within the confines of a wicker basket. Atypical of the paintings that came to characterize the Lombard painter, this piece does not exhibit the sharp delineation between light and dark. The contrast here is, rather, between the colorful fruit in the foreground and the unadorned, neutral background.

This painting has been characterized as exhibiting both "great realism" and attention to detail. The leaves, for example, summarize the life cycle (caravaggio.org):

• Still reaching towards the sun on the upper left
• Drooping on the lower left; and
• Withering and dying on the right.

Jannick verbally describes the detail that has been presented in the painting and I have illustrated it graphically in the below chart.

According to Poter (Michelangelo Merisi, Basket of Fruit, Emerging Infectious Diseases 2003 Dec 9(12)1663 - 64), "... the basket comments on the complexity and vanity of nature. Defying the moment of creation, the diverse image spans instead the life of the fruit, commenting on its inevitable decay. The blemishes, intentional and central to the theme, are not brought on by precipitous mishap but by nature. Uncontrolled environment (temperature, moisture, organisms) has disrupted the fruit's normal physiology, devitalizing the skin, allowing intrusion of pathogens, and promoting decomposition."

First Caravaggio stay in Naples and The Seven Acts of Mercy (1607)

Caravaggio arrived in Naples in September 1606 after hiding out in the Alban Hills to escape facing justice for the murder of Rannuccio Tommasoni. 

Naples was, at this time -- according to our guide -- the Vice-Capital to the King of Spain and everyone in the Court wanted to have a small house there. Also, in this timeframe, first-born sons would be given castles while second-born sons had churches built for them in the city. Naples thus became the "City of a Thousand Churches" and the most inhabited city outside of Paris. It was a relatively small city and many of its inhabitants were very poor. This concentration forced many of the poor to live in the streets and near the multitude of arches in the city. So Naples was, on the one hand, a place where you came to show off your wealth and, on the other, a reality of how destitute an individual could be. Crime was rampant, prostitution a constant, and a lack of clothing endemic.

In 1602, 12 members of the privileged class got together and founded the Misericordia to relieve some of the misery of the City's poor. They gained permission from the Church to build out the structure and manage incoming funds. The deal between the Fathers and the Founders remained secret for 200 years.

Pio Monte della Misericordia Founders

Bernardo de' Dominici, often referred to as the Neapolitan Vasari (because of his similar treatment of the lives of Neapolitan painters) stated that "... Caravaggio came to Naples where he was received with great acclaim by both artists and lovers of art painting, and he painted many works there."

The first of these was The Seven Acts of Mercy, painted between September 23, 1606 and January 7, 1607, for the then enormous sum of 400 ducats. The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy are (https://media.benedictine.edu/):

1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Visit the sick
6. Visit the imprisoned
7. Bury the dead.

According to caravaggio.org, the terms of the agreement stipulated that both the Madonna of the Misericordia and the Acts of Mercy had to occupy a single canvas. Historically each Act had been represented separately. 

Twenty years after the painting was installed, Board Members of the Misericordia signed a document prohibiting the sale or movement of the artwork from its emplacement. If I wanted to see this painting, then, I would have to travel to Naples. That I did with my friends Brandon and Lidia.

We had spent the prior day pursuing Caravaggio through the halls of the Capitoline Museums and the Doria Pamphilj Gallery. Now, on the morning after, we took a train from Rome to Naples. This was a significant trip because I had written about Caravaggio's work up to his stay in the Alban Hills but could not proceed beyond that until I had seen the next phase of his work -- Naples. Because I wanted to get the flavor of Naples, we enlisted in a 3-hour guided tour which would include art emplacements as well as locations which Caravaggio would have frequented while he was in the city.

Our tour as scheduled to begin at 10:00 am . We got into town early enough for a leisurely walk to the Misericordia, the starting point of the tour.

Brandon at Pio Monte della Misericordia

We went into the cafeteria situated below the offices of the Misericordia in order to have a pre-tour breakfast. While having our breakfast, the tour guide contacted me by phone to ask where we were. She asked us to remain there as that was actually the real starting point and she would bring the other members of the tour over there.

Brandon and the Author breakfasting at the cafe at 
Pio Monte della Misericordia

Lidia, Brandon, and the Author at Pio 
Monte della Misericordia

The Tour Guide showed up with two other team members and we were eventually joined by another couple. Before we began the walking part of the tour, we were subjected to a fairly lengthy discourse on the life of Caravaggio up to this Naples stint and given her perspective on the intent and meaning of his art. The image of Caravaggio coming out of that dialogue was of a barely understood man whose paintings told the "real truths" and whose character had been assassinated by biographers with axes to grind.

We then walked into the church to view the painting. It was breathtaking in its magnificence.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
The Seven Acts of Mercy, 1607
(Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples;
viewed in situ, 4/19/2026)

And then the tour guide began to explain the iconography as she saw it. Her explanations are graphically illustrated in the chart below.

Visual-arts-cork.com sees Caravaggio's church paintings of what they call "the first Neapolitan period," as being still linked stylistically with the paintings from the Roman years. As it relates to The Seven Acts of Mercy, the publication sees this piece as recalling "the S. Luigi dei Francesi scenes of St Matthew."

After the conclusion of the visit to the Misericordia, we walked to an eatery that Caravaggio frequented while he was in Naples and then to the Galleria di Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano to view Caravaggio's Martyrdom of St Ursula (1610). But those are stories for another day.

I could not end without remarking on the excellent job done by our Tour Guide who exhibited a depth of knowledge of Caravaggio and his works that I was envious of. Not only was she knowledgeable, though, she did a great job of sharing said knowledge with others. The specific tour is named Naples: Masterpieces of Caravaggio Guided Walking Tour and it is offered by Get Your Guide.

Caravaggio on the run: Alban Hills

Subsequent to my attendance at the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition at Palazzo Barberini in Rome, I set out to describe the artist's oevrue based on the works that I have seen with my own two eyes and within a framework that made sense to me. To date I have written about the artist in terms of him: making a name for himself; invigorating the dark shades; scaling the heights; and riding the wave. In the latter, I closed with the death of Rannucio Tommasoni at the hands of Caravaggio (May 28, 1606) and the painter reaping the punishment of a death sentence as a result. In the remainder of this series I will cover Caravaggio as "the artist on the run."

Caravaggio on the run, 1606 - 1610
(By Shadowxfox et EnokAugusta 89Derivative
works : Frédéric-FR - File:Italy 1494-fr.svg
Augusta 89File:Italy 1494.svg Shadowxfox et Enok,
CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91656198

Caravaggio fled Rome in order to avoid the consequences of his crime. And he was aided in that effort. According to one source:

The story of Late Caravaggio is that of powerful patrons who sought to protect him despite knowing very well that he was a fugitive ... Wherever he went, the artist was honored and protected. Patrons were more interested in securing his brush rather than handing him over to justice.

Caravaggio's first assistance came from the powerful Colonna family. Costanza Colonna was the daughter of the famed Marcantonio II Colonna and Felice Orsini and was a longtime friend of the painter, a frequent guest at Palazzo Colonna. Costanza was 60 years old at the time of Ranuccio's death and the mother of a similarly rambunctious son, Fabrizio. It is held that Caravaggio fled to Palazzo Colonna after the death of Ranuccio.

The Colonnas owned feudal strongholds at Paliano, Marino, Zagarolo and Palestrina in the Alban Hills and Caravaggio was smuggled out of the city and into these locales. It was in this period that he painted Supper at Emmaus (1606) and St Francis in Prayer (1606). There is also some speculation that he might have also painted David with the Head of Goliath at this time.

The 1606 rendition of Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus appears in the inventory of Palazzo Patrizi in 1624 (valued at 300 scudi). It was acquired by Pinocoteca Brera in 1939 and resides there to this day. According to Bellini’s 1672 biography, this piece was painted in the Colonna palace at Paliano (as was the St Francis piece).

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Supper at Emmaus, 1606
(Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan;
viewed at the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition,
7/18/2025)

The technique, approach, representations, light, and color have all been toned down from the 1601 version, according to godwhospeaks.uk, because of:

• The ascetic influence of his patron Cardinal Mattei
• A now-precarious existence (and the mental weight that came along with that)
• Having to paint without a studio or sufficient material.

The main differences between the two paintings are captured in the annotated 1606 representation presented below.

One source sees the 1606 Emmaus as a "sad picture, drained of the dynamism of the earlier version." It was viewed as more withdrawn, with figures no longer bursting out of the canvas.

In my view, the 1606 version is a clear reflection of where Caravaggio was in his life. The worry lines on the foreheads of the Innkeeper and his wife(?) are pretty telling and that sense of worry, doom, and gloom pervades the face of Jesus and the overall environment.

Saint Francis was an Italian Roman Catholic Friar, deacon and preacher who was consecrated by Pope Gregory IX in 1228. He was associated with animals and the natural world and, as such, is considered the Patron Saint of animals. He is also one of two designated Patron Saints of Italy (Saint Catherine of Siena is the other). Saint Francis' life of poverty and humility was a popular subject in Caravaggio's time and the artist was not himself immune to this trend; he is thought to have painted at least three pieces with the Saint as the subject.

Two of these pieces are problematic for the Caravaggio scholar. Saint Francis in Meditation and Saint Francis in Prayer are almost exactly the same size and both feature the Saint contemplating a skull. The painting below, Saint Francis in Prayer, has the Saint looking to the side at the skull while Saint Francis in Meditation has the skull positioned in the foreground. 

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Saint Francis in Meditation, 1606
(Museo Civico Ala Ponzone, Cremona;
viewed at the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition,
7/18/2025)

The problem that these paintings present is that they were never recorded so their completion dates are not known with any degree of certainty. Further, it is not known whether these are originals or copies. "A connection to Caravaggio's personal life is suggested by a 1603 libel trial in which Orazio Gentileschi testified to lending Caravaggio a monk's robe." The supposition was that the robe mentioned was the one that appears in the painting and, on that basis, the painting was assumed to have been completed sometime between 1602 and 1604.

However, "the austere composition and relatively restrained painterly technique have led some scholars ... to date the work around 1606." There is some conjecture that this painting was completed during the time that Caravaggio hid in the area outside of Rome prior to being spirited off to Naples.

Caravaggio: Riding the wave

I visited the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition earlier this year in Rome and had a number of issues with it. One of my peeves was the organization of painter's oeuvre.  In a series of posts, I am attempting to place the paintings from the 2025 exhibition, and Caravaggio works that I have seen post that visit, into a more easily understood framework. This post continues that series.  

Caravaggio's work in the Contarelli Chapel received widespread acclaim and lifted him up on a wave that he rode with gusto until he came crashing back to earth in 1606. 

The first evidence of Caravaggio's newfound fame was a commission from Monsignor Tibero Cesari -- Treasurer-General to Pope Clement VIII -- to provide two paintings for the side panels of the Cesari Chapel of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo. Cesari had recently bought the patronage rights to the chapel and commissioned Carracci and Caravaggio to provide the necessary artwork. Caravaggio's two paintings were supposed to commemorate Saints Peter and Paul but his first two submittals (Crucifixion of Saint Peter, c. 1600 - 1601 and Conversion of Saul, c. 1600 - 01) were not accepted. It is thought that Caravaggio painted the pieces prior to getting accurate measurements and the finished paintings did not fit the space. 

Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo

These two paintings were subsequently bought by the Catholic Cardinal Giacomo Sennesia with the surviving one -- Conversion of Saul -- now resident in the Nicoletta Odescalchi Collection and shown at Caravaggio 2025. The two rejected paintings were replaced with Conversion on the Way to Damascus, 1601 and Crucifixion of St Peter, 1601. Both of these paintings were accepted and are present in the named chapel to this day.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Conversion of Saul, 1600 - 01
(Nicoletta Odescalchi collection, Rome;
viewed at the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition,
7/18/2025)

The Conversion of St. Paul has the belly of the horse as the central point with St Paul almost out of the picture at the bottom of the frame. The foreshortened St Paul is held down by the power of the blinding light while the groom seems to be less aware than the horse of what is happening. 

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Conversion on the Way to Damascus, 1601
(Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome;
viewed in situ, 9/24/2025)

According to Dr Ruggiero, the Crucifixion of St. Peter is one of the most moving works in the history of art. The burliness of the models suggest neighborhood recruits and the entire scene is rendered up close and personal to the viewer. The single rock is the only item that gives a sense of where we are. Dr Ruggiero suggested that it could also be a play on Peter as the rock on which the church will be built.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Crucifixion of St Peter, 1601
(Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome;
viewed in situ, 9/24/2025)

Neither of the two Cerasi Chapel paintings were included in the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition.

Two of Jesus' disciples were walking to Emmaus and are joined by a third traveler. This traveler is Jesus but he remains unrecognized until he reveals himself to the disciples while they are having dinner at an Inn in the town of Emmaus. According to the National Gallery, The Supper at Emmaus, 1601 was "painted at the height of Caravaggio's fame," was recorded at the Villa Borghese (Rome) in 1650 (likely having been in the collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who died in 1633), and listed in a Borghese inventory of 1693.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Supper at
Emmaus, 1601 (National Gallery of Art, London;
viewed in situ, 12/5/2024)

The museum sees the painting as "among his most impressive domestic religious pictures." The symbolism associated with the painting is illustrated below.

The Taking of Christ was painted for the Roman Marquis Ciriaco Mattei and continued the flurry of commissions that fell into Caravaggio's lap following his Contarelli Chapel success. The figures, according to the National Gallery of Ireland (the home of the painting), are placed close to the picture plane and "a strong light-and-dark contrast" gives the scene an" extraordinary sense of drama." In the painting, Judas has identified Jesus with a kiss and the Temple Guards are moving in for the arrest. John The Evangelist flees the scene in disarray at the far left while Caravaggio peers in on the far right.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
The Taking of Christ, 1602
(National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin;
viewed at the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition,
7/18/2025)

This painting has led a storied life. It remained in the Mattei Family for over 200 years. By the second half of the 18th Century a number of the Mattei paintings were reattributed, including the Caravaggio which was attributed to a Dutch Caravaggiste named Gerrit van Honthorst. In 1602 the painting was sold to William Hamilton Nisbett, a wealthy Scottish art collector doing business in Rome. The painting remained in his family for 119 years after which it was sold at auction in 1921 and again in 1922. Post the final auction it was held by Major Charles Hubert Francis Noel. In 1924 it was acquired by Dr Marie Lea-Wilson who brought it to Ireland. In the 1930s Dr Lea-Wilson presented the painting to the Jesuit Fathers of Leeson Street in Dublin where it hung in their dining room for 50 years. In 1990 Father Noel Barber contacted the National Gallery of Ireland to have its holdings assessed. Three years of careful study followed and the painting was once again attributed to Caravaggio and was placed on long-term loan to the National Galley of Ireland.

Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness, 1602 - 04, is one of about eight Caravaggio paintings dealing with this topic. The painting was initially commissioned by the banker Ottavio Costa who thought to send it to a small church in Liguria. He was unable to let the painting go, however, and kept it with him in Rome all his life.

The subject is shown "sitting on a rock, leaning on his reed cross, caught in. a moment of deep meditation. Light and shadow, engulfing the ribcage and falling across the eyes, wrestle on the figure of this saint ..."

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness, c. 1602 - 04
(The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO;
viewed at the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition,
7/18/2025)

In Caravaggio's Sacrifice of Isaac, a black-winged angel stays Abraham's knife-wielding right hand while Isaac stares out at us with a look of abject terror and a scream to match. The sheep looks imploringly at Abraham as if to say "You've got the wrong guy buddy."The action is taking place on high ground as there are buildings below the event level.While this event took place somewhere in today's Middle East, the background is reminiscent of a Renaissance Tuscan countryside.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Sacrifice of Isaac, 1603 - 04 (Uffizi, Florence;
viewed in situ, 10/2/2025)

The Crowning of Thorns (1603), resident in Vienna's Kunthistorisches Museum, is one of two Caravaggio works treating this subject (The other is at the Cariprato Bank in Prato). This painting originated from the collection of Vincenzo Giustiniani who had, since about 1600, begun compiling "the most influential collection of European Baroque Art." The painting was mentioned in the collection inventory as a piece designed to be hung over a doorway.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
The Crowning of Thorns, 1603 (Kunthistorisches
Museum, Vienna; viewed at the exhibition From
Vienna to Rome:Habsburg Masterpieces from the
Kunthistorisches Museum, Museo del Corso;
4/18/2026)

According to the wall poster accompanying the piece, it "... is among the most powerful representations of Christ's suffering in Caravaggio's oeuvre. After his interrogation before Pilate, Christ was publicly humiliated with a crown of thorns, a mock sceptre, and a red cloak. Caravaggio endows him with a delicate complexion that stands in stark contrast to the sun-tanned bodies of his tormentors. His bare neck, violently forced into a horizontal position, underscores the brutality of the event; yet he appears curiously untouched by the mechanical forces visibly acting upon him."

There had been some disagreement as to the period in which the work was painted but "20th century scholarship has firmly established the Vienna version's autograph status through technical analysis and stylistic comparison that align it with Caravaggio's Roman period output around 1602 - 1604."

The painting was acquired in 1869 in Rome by Baron Ludwig von Lebzeltern for the Imperial Gallery. It arrived in Vienna on April 16, 1816.

Another treatment of John the Baptist in the Wilderness (1604 - 06). This one features a younger-faced John stripped of his ever-present camel skin robe and with elements of the cross cut off by the edge of the painting.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
John the Baptist (John in the Wilderness), c. 1604 - 1606
(Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome;
viewed at the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition,
7/18/2025)

Just after completing the work on the Cerasi Chapel, Caravaggio was commissioned by Laerzio Cherubini to produce a painting on the death of the Virgin for the altar on his family chapel in the Carmelite church of Santa Maria della Scala

 in Trastavere.

Catholic dogma at the time had coalesced around the sentiment that Mary had been “assumed into heaven prior to her burial” but in his The Death of a Virgin, Caravaggio treated the scene as “ if it were simply the death of a beloved middle-aged woman.” The thin halo around her head is the only allusion to her holiness and status as the mother of Jesus. Mary Magdalene is bent over to the left of the body and we can assume that the kneeling young man is St. John the Beloved. Saint Peter is one of the “grandfatherly figures” but beyond that the apostles are unidentified.

Mary forms the only horizontal in a forest of verticals and her body is the only one shown in its entirety. Only she is fully illuminated. Mary’s depiction illustrates “Caravaggio’s commitment to naturalism and a more realistic portrayal of Christian imagery.” 

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
The Death of the Virgin, 1601 - 06 (Louvre, Paris;
viewed in situ, 12/11/2025)

The painting was rejected by the Fathers of Santa Maria della Scala in 1606 and replaced by a more conventional treatment of the subject by Carlo Saraceni. Caravaggio’s version was purchased by Vincenzo Gonzaga — on the recommendation of Rubens — and later came into the possession of The Louvre.

In 1603 Ermete Cavalleti became patron of the Chapel of the Madonna of Loreto in the Basilica di Sant'Eustachio and commissioned a painting from Caravaggio which would represent the Madonna of the Pilgrims (also known as the Madonna of Loreto). The final product was placed in the chapel at the beginning of 1606.

Basilica di Sant'Eustachio

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Madonna of the Pilgrims (Madonna of Loreto),
1604 - 06 (Sant'Eustachio, Rome;
viewed in situ, 9/24/2025)

It was shortly after the completion of the Madonna of Loreto that things came crashing down around Caravaggio's head. He had always been on the wrong side of the law (Google Arts and Culture):

• He was in and out of prison
• He carried a sword
• He loafed about taverns
• He did not pay his rent for 6 months
• He harassed women
• He harassed anyone who slighted him
• He assaulted waiters, notaries and public officers.

But all that paled in comparison to the events of May 28th, 1606 when he killed Ranuccio Tomassoni in a duel and was sentenced to death by beheading. Caravaggio had been befriended by Costanza, daughter  of Marcantonio II of the famed and respected Colonna Family, and had visited the family palace in Rome in the past. And it was there that he sought refuge. 

At this time Caravaggio was no longer riding the wave; he was now embarked on the life of a man on the run.

Caravaggio: Scaling the Heights

The Caravaggio 2025 exhibition placed the paintings on show into categories with which I remain less-than-thrilled. For example, the paintings presented under the heading “Invigorating the Dark Shades,” are, to my mind, actually a subset of the earliest-mentioned category “Making a Name for Himself in Rome” because Caravaggio did not really become widely known until after his completion of the paintings in the Contarelli Chapel. 

I traveled to a number of churches in Rome — the homes of these period pieces — so that (i) I could have pictorial evidence of their existence and (ii) to slot them into this discussion of the works of the Master. I title these paintings that bring Caravaggio fame “Caravaggio: Scaling the Heights.”

The first of these paintings was installed at the Contarelli Chapel of San Luis dei Francesi. This chapel was named after Matteo Contarelli, a Frenchman from Anjou and Cardinal Datary for Pope Gregory XIII. Contarelli had personally been involved with the design of the chapel since 1563 but died in 1585 prior to its completion. After his death, the Executor of his estate, and the congregation, resumed the project sometime between 1591 and 1593. They modified the initial plan to instead have Cavalier d’ Arpino work in the vaults and lunettes while the Flemish sculptor Jacob Cobert would work on the altar statue. This plan was itself abandoned in favor of a plan for paintings by Caravaggio. 

In 1599, thanks to the intervention of Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, Caravaggio received his first public commission to paint canvases for the Contarelli chapel in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi. The cycle, focused on the life of Saint Matthew, was not only a challenge for Merisi, who had to grapple with paintings of "historia" for the first time, it represents a crucial watershed in his production because, from that moment on, Caravaggio painted almost only religious paintings, and in them, we begin to see that "tragic" style that came to characterize his production. This chapel features some of the most emblematic religious-themed works of the mature Merisi.

The first painting that he did was the Martydom of St. Matthew. The painting captures the scene after Matthew had already been struck. He is reaching upwards for the palm, the symbol of martyrdom. Caravaggio can be seen leaning in from the back left. 

Contarelli Chapel

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 
The Martyrdom of St. Matthew, 1599 - 1602
(San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome; viewed in situ, 9/24/2025)

According to the literature accompanying the display, “The great innovation … lies in the use of light in the composition: the natural light coming through the window and the light masterfully rendered in the painting by Caravaggio’s genius.”

The most famous of the paintings in the chapel, according to Dr. Rocky Ruggiero, is the Calling of St. Matthew. 

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 
The Calling of St. Matthew, 1599 - 1600
(San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome; viewed in situ, 9/24/2025)

I have previously analyzed this painting and present the results herein.

He had two passes at St. Matthew and the Angel for the altarpiece. The first effort was rejected because it did not present St Matthew in the finest light. That piece was destroyed in Berlin in 1942. The second version is shown below where St Matthew writes his gospel, inspired by an angel.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 
St. Matthew and the Angel, 1602
(San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome; viewed 
in situ, 9/24/2025)

The painting John the Baptist (1602) resident in the Capitoline Museum is one of eight works by Caravaggio of this subject. According to the side panel:

The light comes from the top left and strikes the youth's nude back, part of his face, and his right leg, but leaving the rest of the body in shadow. In the work, Caravaggio makes the divine human and the human divine: Saint John is re-embodied as a grinning, impish and sensual youth, expressing with his whole body the joy of living. The boy in his turn interprets a young saint still unaware of his dramatic destiny. The picture appears to merge suddenly from the darkness, and to take sudden shape before our eyes in a real space, under a real light, and in real time -- a figure it seems we can almost touch.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 
John the Baptist, 1602
(Musei Capitoline, Rome; viewed
in situ, 4/18/2026)

The young Baptist is missing the usual identifying attributes --- bowl, reed cross, lamb -- with the lamb being substituted by a Ram. It is speculated thatthe Baptist's pose was inspired by Michelangelo's Ignudi on the Sistine Chapel.

The most likely provenance of the piece is as follows:

• Commissioned by Ciriaco Mattei
• Given to him by his son Giovanni Battista
• Bequeathed by the son to Cardinal del Monte in Wills of January 1623 and June 1624
• Listed in the del Monte inventory of 1627
• Sold at the del Monte sale of 1628 to Cardinal Pio
• Sold by the Pio family to Pope Benedict XIV in 1749/50  to be lodged in the newly founded Capitoline Museum.

What is considered a copy of this painting is resident in the Donna Pamphilj Gallery in Rome and was viewed on the same day as the painting above.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 
John the Baptist, 1602
(Pamphilj Gallery, Rome; viewed
in situ, 4/18/2026)

By this time Carravaggio had gained critical and popular acclaim.  The next phase of his career, as I see it, was him "riding the wave."

Caravaggio: Making a name for himself in Rome

The recent Caravaggio 2025 Exhibition at Palazzo Barberini in Rome curated the offerings on show into four major categories:(i) Making a Name in Rome; (ii) Invigorating the Dark Shadows; (iii) The Sacred and the Tragic Between Rome and Naples; and (iv) Endgame. I will arrange the Caravaggio paintings that I have personally seen over the course of the past year accordingly, beginning (in this post) with the first category.

Caravaggio was born in Milan but his family moved to Caravaggio, a little town in the north of Italy, to escape the plague (At this time the commune of Caravaggio was considered Venetian territory.). Caravaggio studied painting during his youth and his teacher was Simone Peterzano, one of the last students of the Venetian great Titian.

Caravaggio left his hometown in 1592 and made his way to Milan. Once there, he found it to be a "dog-eat-dog" environment and he got off to a quite rocky start. He was, like many other aspiring painters, forced to parade around the Piazza Navona with his works hung around him -- in sandwich-board fashion -- hoping that someone would notice his work and favor him with their patronage. 

According to Caravaggio 2025, starting in the summer of his arrival, Caravaggio moved to the workshop of the painter Guiseppe Cesari d'Arpino where he was "engaged in painting flowers and fruits." The partnership ended abruptly after 8 months. The work he did at d'Arpino's shop is reflected in the prominence of fruits and/or leaves in many of Caravaggio's early paintings.

Caravaggio's hunt for a patron bore fruit when he was "discovered" by Cardinal Francisco Maria del Monte, a close ally of the Medici family and, at that time, residing in the nearby Medici Palace. Based on the Cardinal's invitation, Caravaggio moved into the upper floors of the palace and produced most of his early works therein.

Now onto some of those early works.

One of Caravaggio's earliest paintings from his time in Rome is Boy Peeling Fruit. According to sources cited by the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition, this piece was painted during the time that Caravaggio stayed with Monsignor Pandolfo Pucci, a prelate from Recanati. The first reliable record of this piece's provenance was its mention in the inventory of James II of England.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Boy Peeling Fruit, c. 1592 - 93
(Royal Collection Trust, UK; viewed at
Caravaggio 2025 exhibition, 7/18/25)

Four copies of Boy Peeling Fruit is thought to exist and I was able to see the Fondazione Longhi's version at a St Petersburg (FL) exhibition titled In Caravaggio's light.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Boy Peeling Fruit, c. 1593 - 93
(Fondazione Roberto Longhi, Florence;
viewed at In Caravaggio's Light exhibition
(St Petersburg, FL), 3/13/26)

The youth in the Longhi painting is more fully encapsulated within the frame while the light seems more intense in the Royal Collection Trust version. The fruit is also more brightly colored and the shadow on the right shoulder more pronounced. According to the literature accompanying the Longhi piece, "... Caravaggio used intense shadows to contrast the boy's pale skin and white shirt, capturing his intense concentration as he peels a piece of fruit."

According to Dr Ruggiero (a Renaissance expert), Caravaggio fell ill and did a self-portrait (Sick Bacchus) to pass the time. While the grapes and laurel conjures up Bacchus to one's senses, Dr. Ruggiero points out that the laurel is made from Ivy -- rather than  grape -- leaves. In the ancient world, poets were pale (because of the time they spent indoors) and wore ivy crowns. This, then, could have been Caravaggio depicting himself as a visual poet (painter).

Most art at this time still looked like the art of Michelangelo -- bright colors of superhuman forms -- but the art in Sick Bacchus was markedly different. As Dr. Ruggiero described it, the composition was right in your face with the table in the foreground, the subject in the mid-ground, and no background to speak of. Caravaggio learned this compositional style from Venetian artists.

There is some confusion around this painting. According to Caravaggio.com, the painter completed this work in 1593 while he was working in d'Arpino's studio. According to one source he was recovering from a bout of malaria while another says that he was a victim of a kick from a horse. The Journal of the Royal Society attributes the painter's pallor to the effects of jaundice. Dr. Ruggiero agrees with the 1593 date. Villa Borghese, the home of the painting, lists the date as 1595 while the Caravaggio 2025 exhibit lists it as 1595 - 96. 

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Self portrait as Bacchus (known as Sick Bacchus),
c. 1593 (Galleria Borghese, Rome; viewed at
Caravaggio 2025 exhibition, 7/18/25)

While Boy Bitten by a Lizard does not yet manifest Caravaggio's signature chiaroscuoro, it does capture his ability to register a single point in time and centers flowers and leaves in a prominent still life. 

This painting was, according to Caravaggio's biographers, most certainly made for the open market, rather than for a specific patron. Many early 17th century copies of this painting exist "including a high-quality replica" at the Fondazione Longhi (Florence) which is thought by some to be from the hands of Caravaggio himself.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Boy Bitten by a Lizard, c. 1594 - 95
(National Gallery, London; viewed in situ
12/5/24)

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Boy

Bitten by Lizard, c. 1594 - 95 

(Fondazione Roberto Longhi, Florence;

viewed at In Caravaggio's Light exhibition,

St. Petersburg (FL), 3/13/26

Boy with a Basket of Fruit is considered by some to be Caravaggio's first masterpiece in that it is the "earliest work where key elements of his art came together." According to literature accompanying the painting at Caravaggio's Boy with a Basket of Fruit in Focus exhibition (The Morgan Library and Museum, 2026):

With his parted lips, flushed ears, and shirt slipping from his shoulders, the boy in the painting was far from the idealized figures typical of Roman art at that time. Presented with remarkable frankness, the model seems to be offered to us for examination, akin to the overripe fruit he holds. Rather than depicting a god or allegorical figure, Caravaggio drew attention to the art of painting itself.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Boy with

a Basket of Fruit, c. 1595 (Galeria Borghese, 

Rome; viewed at Caravaggio's Boy with a 

Basket of Fruit in Focus exhibition,

Morgan Library and Museum, NY), 3/13/26

This painting has been a part of the Borghese collection since 1607 and has resided in the current space since 1613. It came into the possession of the Cardinal when he engineered the confiscation of over 100 

paintings from the studio of the painter Giuseppe Cesari (Cavaliere d'Arpino), among which were several early Caravaggio's efforts; including Boy with a Basket of Fruit). Caravaggio had painted this piece while he was employed in Cesari's studio producing canvasses to sell on the open art market.

The model for Baccus (1595 - 1597) is Mario Minniti, a young Sicilian painter with whom Caravaggio, according to Dr. Ruggerio, had an amorous relationship. We see a bed sheet spread over the model’s shoulder Toga-like, and the folded-over mattress for his repose. We see the flush in his cheeks from the drinking and bubbles in the decanter from the freshly poured wine. We see ripe fruits with brilliant colors and the waves in the wine glass showing either recently poured wine or liquid movement after a recent swirl.The folds of the model’s shirt sleeve can be seen through the glass stem which the model is holding in the approved manner.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Baccus, C. 1595 - 1597 (Uffizi,
Florence; viewed in situ 10/2/25)

Cardinal Del Monte gifted the painting to Ferdinand I de Medici. It was found in the storage of the Uffizi in 1916.

The Fortune Teller "portrays a cunning Gypsy as she reads the palm of a naive young fellow, who, gazing into the woman's face, fails to realize that she is about to steal his precious ring." This light, bright painting is almost the antithesis of the Caravaggio works that we have come to know and love. This painting was part of Cardinal Monte's collection and was subsequently acquired by Carlo Emanuele Pio (along with St John the Baptist) in 1628. 

According to the literature accompanying the painting:

The painting is an important example of the explosive innovations that the artist introduced into painting ... Starting from the background of the canvas, Caravaggio builds an undefined space made real by the natural light that, as it invades the pictorial field, builds shapes and volumes. The subjects ... are live models in contemporary garb, depicted from the live observation.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Fortune Teller,

c. 1596 - 97 (Musei Capitolini - Pinacoteca Capitolina, Rome; viewed at Caravaggio 2025 exhibition, 7/18/25; also viewed at Musei Capitolini, 4/18/26)

Another version of this painting by the same author is resident in The Louvre. There are slight differences between the two in terms of headgear, attire, and disposition but the theme is unchanged.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Fortune Teller,
 c. 1595 - 98 (The Louvre Museum, Paris;
viewed in situ, 12/11/25)

Similar to Fortune Teller in both airiness and underlying lack of morals, The Cardsharps was one of the first Caravaggio's to be purchased by Cardinal Monte. Referred to as The Game in early sources, this painting was acquired by Cardinal Antonio Barberini upon Monte's death. 

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Cardsharps,

c. 1596 - 97 (Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX; viewed at Caravaggio 2025 exhibition, 7/18/25)

Caravaggio painted from live models; he did not do any drawings or other preparatory work. If he was dissatisfied with a painting, or a part of a painting, he simply painted over the offending area. His backgrounds at this time were mostly neutral.

The model in The Musicians (called Concert at the Caravaggio 2025 exhibition) is, again, Mario Minniti. This painting was done for Cardinal Monte, the first of a number. Caravaggio is the figure in the background. 

This painting was also acquired by Cardinal Barberini upon Monte's death.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,The Musicians,

 

1597 (National Gallery, Washington, DC; viewed in situ 8/5/25)

The model used in Penitent Magdalene is probably the same model used in Rest on the Flight into Egypt (1597); her hair is down but the features are similar. The former work portrays a sinner who has just renounced her previous worldly life by highlighting a number of items on the ground. The artist’s skill in still-life representation is on full display.

The figure appears compressed due to the high viewpoint employed while the lightness of the color tones reminds of the artist’s early works. The painting was purchased in 1650 from the Vittrice Collection.

Michelangelo Meridian da Caravaggio,
Penitent Magdalene, 1597
(Dora Pamphilj Gallery, Rome; viewed
in situ, 8/18/2026)

Rest on the Flight into Egypt is almost divided into two by the figure of the angel playing a violin. The artist executed a “naturalistic portrayal” of Saint Joseph while providing more “idealized” views of the Mother and Child. The notes on the sheet of music are from a piece written by Flemish composer Noel Bauldwijn for a verse taken from the Song of Songs dedicated to the Virgin. This painting, like the above, was purchased by Donna Pamphilj from the Vittrice Collection in 1650.

Michelangelo Meridian da Caravaggio, 
Rest on the Flight into Egypt, 1597 
(Dora Pamphilj Gallery, Rome; viewed 
in situ, 8/18/2026)

The parade shield  in Testa di Medusa (c. 1597) was “given to Grand Duke Ferdinando I by Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, a Medici agent at the papal court in Rome, in 1598. It was intended for the new armoury, where it was part of the knightly accoutrements of a dummy on horseback wearing Persian armour. The subject, based on the Classical myths on which Caravaggio had trained in his youth, is reinterpreted here in a naturalistic vein, the eyes open wide in horror, the mouth frozen in a cry of revulsion, the writhing tangle of serpents (paralleled in the scientific plates commissioned by the Medici from Jacopo Ligozzi) semingly at odds with the drastically severed neck.”

This painting was restored in 2002 with funding from the Gruppo Maggiore.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Testa di Medusa,  c.  1597
(Uffizi, Florence; viewed in situ
10/2/25)

Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (c. 1597 - 1598) portrays Saint Francis in ecstasy after receiving the stigmata. He is held up by an angel while the dozing Brother Leo and some shepherds may be glimpsed behind the two figures.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy,  
c.  1597 - 1598 (Wadsworth Atheneum
Museum of Art, Hartford, CT; viewed at
Caravaggio 2025 exhibition, 7/18/25)

The canvas is Caravaggio's first known religious painting as well as "one of the first where he tackles shadow in nighttime depictions." Painting originally belonged to the wealthy banker Ottavio Costa.

Narcissus breaks from the other paintings in this section with its dark background and, with reflection, foreground. According to Caravaggio 2025, this is "one of the most debated paintings in the Caravaggio catalogue." Those who initially attributed the painting to Caravaggio, gave a date of 1590 - 95 but, more recently, persons willing to attribute will give a date from 1597 - 99 while others question whether this is even a Caravaggio at all.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,
Narcissus, 1597 - 99
(Gallerie Nazionale di Arte Antica,
Palazzo Barberini, Rome; viewed at
Caravaggio 2025 exhibition, 7/18/25)

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Up until this time, all of Caravaggio's commissions had been small and from private sources. His first major contract was in 1602 with the family of Cardinal Mateo Contarelli. The contract called for Caravaggio to paint the walls of the family chapel at San Luigi Dei Francesi. Carravagio was not supposed to paint the altarpiece (it was supposed to be a sculpture) but the family was so impressed with the work that he did on the walls that they asked him to do that also.

By this time Carravaggio had gained critical and popular acclaim. He followed up the Contrarelli Chapel with a commission for the Cerasi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome.

I will continue this series with the works falling into the category Invigorating the Dark Shadows.

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