Basket of Fruit

Basket of Fruit, painted approximately between 1597 and 1600, is one of the most radical works of Caravaggio's early Roman period and a landmark in the development of European still-life painting. The artist transforms a simple wicker basket filled with fruit and leaves into the sole protagonist of the composition, granting everyday objects a pictorial dignity traditionally reserved for human figures and narrative scenes.

The basket rests on the edge of a horizontal surface and appears to project towards the viewer. Behind it there is no landscape, architecture or narrative setting, only a pale neutral background. This extraordinary simplicity concentrates attention entirely on the forms, textures and colours of the fruit.

The historical importance of Basket of Fruit also lies in the autonomy it grants to still life.