Boy Bitten by a Lizard

Boy Bitten by a Lizard, probably painted around 1594–1596, belongs to the early Roman period of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. This version, now preserved at the Fondazione Roberto Longhi in Florence, depicts a young man violently withdrawing his hand after a small lizard hidden among fruit and flowers has bitten his finger.

Caravaggio concentrates the entire composition on the boy's instantaneous reaction. The sudden movement of his body, the tension of his shoulders, the recoiling hand and the expression on his face transform an apparently trivial incident into a scene of remarkable physical and psychological intensity. The painter thus demonstrates his interest in capturing fleeting actions and immediate emotions.

The existence of another version in the National Gallery in London is one of the most intriguing aspects of the painting's history.