Recreating Caravaggio’s ‘Boy bitten by a Lizard’ - National Gallery

A young man convulses in pain as a small lizard bites his middle finger. This painting depicts a distinct moment, the very moment at which the young man reacts to this surprise attack. We see his knotted brow, his convulsed left hand. We see the tendons in his right hand seize up as the lizard sinks its teeth into his finger. But what does it mean? This is Caravaggio's Boy Bitten by a Lizard, a painting that art historians have debated the meaning of for decades. Caravaggio painted this in Rome in the 1590s when he was in his 20s. At the time he was hopping from workshop to workshop, painting fruit and flowers, trying to earn a living and establish a name for himself. In the Renaissance era still life painting did not have the same prestige as figure painting. But here Caravaggio does something different by combining the two. The still life aspect of the painting bleeds into the figure painting via the lizard's bite. We have all of the hallmarks of still life painting in the foreground, the glossy ripe cherries, sweet smelling jasmine and a perfectly positioned pink rose. And while it was not out of place for creatures such as lizards to feature in still life paintings, by making the lizard do something Caravaggio introduces movement and narrative into his painting. Put simply Caravaggio brings still life to life. Art historians have focused on different aspects of the painting in order to discern its meaning. For some the painting is The chiaroscuro effect that Caravaggio is famous for, the extreme contrast between light and dark, accentuates the way the young man's muscles contract in pain across his face. For others the painting is allegorical, meaning it has a hidden meaning. The lizard has been interpreted as a punishment for some sort of transgression. Some art historians have viewed this allegory as biblical. After all a lizard is not far off from a serpent and in the bible Adam and Eve are expelled from paradise because Eve listens to the serpent and not God. The painting has also been interpreted as a vanitas, a still life painting in which the objects warn the viewer to be watchful of traits like pride or hubris. By depicting impermanent worldly pleasures such as fruit and flowers, sometimes with early signs of decay and sometimes alongside a human skull, vanitas paintings were designed to encourage humility in the viewer by making them aware of their own mortality. Where there is youth there is old age and where there is life there is certain death. Here the youth appears somewhat incredulous as if he is being taught a life lesson. Hidden amongst the fruit and flowers where there is pleasure there is also pain. The finger the lizard bites has also been commented on, the digitus impudicus, the middle finger, a gesture that people have used to insult one another since ancient Greece. Here though it is not the youth doing the insulting, rather he is the one being insulted. In the act of recoiling the youth's shoulder has become exposed. For some art historians there is something distinctly homoerotic about the depiction of this young man. Even in this moment of pain he has full parted lips, rosy cheeks and a rose tucked behind his ear, his bare muscular shoulder now conveniently on show. This is a moment that shouldn't be erotic but there is an evident sensuality in the young man's reaction. In Boy with a Basket of Fruit the young man offers a bounty of fruit to the viewer, though his expression, parted lips and head tilted back, makes us wonder if this is the only thing on offer. Even Caravaggio's self-portrait Sick Young Bacchus has a coy erotic charge to it, as if he was soliciting the viewer. Biographical records tell us that Caravaggio often painted portraits of himself in the mirror in his early career. Could this be a self-portrait? The young man's eyes are fixed on something. Might this be his own reflection? In which case might he be witnessing his own reaction just as we the viewer witness his reaction? Either way there is a slight look of revelation on his face, as if whatever the lizard bite may mean the young man is very much learning. This is a moment of vulnerability that Caravaggio has allowed us the viewer to be privy to. The lizard is a small and seemingly harmless creature but it delivers an almighty shock that leaves the young man open and exposed. Whatever this means, Boy Bitten by a Lizard is a painting full of ambiguous and potentially transgressive suggestion. This ambiguity may well have been the point. If you'd like to learn more about art click here or here and subscribe to our channel. Thank you for watching and we'll see you next time.