Description
Boy Bitten by a Lizard is an early Caravaggio from around 1594–1596: a curly-haired boy with a white rose behind his ear, his shirt slipping off one shoulder, cries out and jerks back because a tiny lizard has bitten his finger. Cherries lie in front of him, and beside them stands a glass vase of water holding a pink rose. The original, oil on canvas, 66 cm high and 49.5 cm wide, belongs to the National Gallery in London. Once you order, our painter brings the scene onto canvas with brush and oil paint, in 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 51 to 156 x 200 cm or made to measure, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of your finished boy and lizard.
| Title: | Boy Bitten by a Lizard |
| Other titles: | Ragazzo morso da un ramarro · Knabe, von einer Eidechse gebissen |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) |
| Year painted: | c. 1594–1596 |
| Original size: | 66 cm x 49.5 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, tenebrism |
| Located at: | National Gallery, London, United Kingdom |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Boy Bitten by a Lizard – Caravaggio
What does this Caravaggio painting show?
On an upright canvas a boy leans across a grey table where cherries and a few small yellow-green fruits are lying. As he reaches for them, a tiny lizard darts out of the leaves and bites a finger of his right hand. The boy yanks his shoulder back, his brow knits and his mouth opens in a cry.
His left hand flies up with the fingers spread. He has thick dark curls, and a white rose with dark leaves is tucked behind his right ear. His white shirt has slipped off his right shoulder, which is bare and brightly lit, while a brown cloak covers the other side of his body.
At the front on the right stands a round glass vase of water. It holds a pink rose with green leaves and small white flowers, and the window of the room is clearly mirrored in the glass. Light falls from the upper left and leaves a slanting band of shadow on the olive-grey wall behind the boy.
What is happening between the boy and the lizard?
The story is ordinary and almost comic: a child reaches for fruit, a small creature shoots out of the greenery and bites. Caravaggio catches the very instant when surprise and pain are only starting to spread across the face.
Who posed is not known for certain. One suggestion is Mario Minniti, who sat for several of Caravaggio’s paintings in those years. The art historian Michael Fried proposed instead a disguised self-portrait.
Why is the lizard painting so well known?
Because here Caravaggio tries to paint fleeting surprise and fear from a live model, who in truth had to hold the pose for a long time; hence the slightly theatrical attitude.
That very experiment makes it important in his early work. It shows a way out of the quiet, almost motionless stillness of his first pictures, the mood you find in Boy Peeling Fruit.
According to Roberto Longhi, Caravaggio probably borrowed the bitten-finger motif from a drawing by the Renaissance artist Sofonisba Anguissola, in which a crab nips a boy. Dating, model and sources are discussed in more depth in the English-language Wikipedia article.
Where is the original kept, and how many versions exist?
The version we paint from belongs to the National Gallery in London, where it is catalogued as NG6504. The canvas measures 66 by 49.5 cm.
There are two versions of this composition, and both are believed to be by Caravaggio. The other one is in Florence, in the Fondazione Roberto Longhi, and both are dated to around 1594–1596.
Longhi favoured the later end of that span, since Caravaggio only moved into the Palazzo Madama of his patron, Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, in 1595.
The lizard boy or another Caravaggio?
This is a canvas painting for anyone who enjoys lively faces, flowers and glass still lifes, with a dash of humour. Because the original is small, it suits a study, a hallway or a bedroom.
A calmer relative from the same years is Boy with a Basket of Fruit, a youth holding a basket of ripe fruit. Music, flowers and fruit on a table come together in The Lute Player, where a young musician plays and sings.
A youth lost in his own reflection on the water is the subject of Narcissus. All the famous Caravaggio paintings we make for our customers are brought together on the Caravaggio page.
How does our painter paint the boy and the lizard?
We start only after you order, building the painting up in oils on canvas in several layers. The painter first lays a dark, warm ground and then sketches the boy’s head, the outstretched arm, the vase and the fruit with a thin brush.
Next he models the skin: the lit shoulder turns almost whitish pink, while the face in half-shadow gains flushed cheeks and dark eyes. The glass asks for the most care, because the clear water, the mirrored window and the stems below the surface have to convince.
This Caravaggio reproduction has a real, tactile surface on which the brushstrokes can be seen. As an oil painting reproduction with a dark background and a pale shoulder it wants soft, not glaring, light: it looks its best in daylight from the side or under a warm wall lamp.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: 40 x 51 or 45 x 60 cm for a narrow wall, above a bedside table or a desk, 58 x 75 or 73 x 100 cm for a hallway, a chest of drawers or a bed, 84 x 110 or 105 x 145 cm above a sofa, and 120 x 160 or 156 x 200 cm for a tall wall or a stairwell.
We paint the lizard boy in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 51, 45 x 60, 58 x 75, 73 x 100, 84 x 110, 105 x 145, 120 x 160 and 156 x 200 cm. The closest to the original is 45 x 60 cm, 4.5 cm narrower and 6 cm shorter; 58 x 75 cm is 8.5 cm wider and 9 cm taller.
The big sizes bring out the glass, the rose and the cherries. As a painting for the living room it works best at 84 x 110 or 105 x 145 cm; hang it so that the boy’s face sits at about eye level.
Can I have another size or a frame?
Yes. For different proportions, we adapt the composition so that the vase and the bitten hand stay whole. Tell us which size you would like, and we will quote a price and a lead time.
We send the painting rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or already framed. Our workshop in Slovenia stretches and frames the lizard boy. You pick the moulding in our 3D app, which serves only for choosing a frame; viewing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
A narrow antique-gold frame or a plain moulding in dark wood suits the deep olive and brown tones of this canvas.
When will the painting arrive, and how is it delivered?
The boy with his vase and cherries is ready to travel within 15 to 45 working days. Before packing we send you a photograph of the finished painting, and if you would like a change, we make it before dispatch. There are no customs charges within Slovenia and the rest of the EU, and every order is covered by our returns policy.
The lizard painting makes a witty gift for a nature lover, a gardener or a reptile keeper. If you do not know their walls, give a wall art voucher and let them choose the size.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the original hang?
In the National Gallery in London, catalogued as NG6504; the second version is in Florence.
What happens to the boy in the painting?
As he reaches for the fruit, a small lizard bites his finger, and he cries out in fright.
Is it a print?
No, it is a hand-painted copy that our painter makes with brush and oil paint on the canvas.
What size is the original?
66 cm high and 49.5 cm wide; our 45 x 60 cm size comes closest.
Does the lizard have a special meaning?
The fruit and the lizard have been read as symbols too, but the painting first of all shows a sudden moment of pain and fright.
Does it suit a bedroom or a study?
Yes. Small, it looks good above a desk or a chest of drawers; large, above a sofa.
Can I order it in a size that is not listed?
Of course. Send us the width and height you want, and we will reply with a price and a making time.
How long does it take to make?
From 15 to 45 working days; the photograph of the finished painting reaches you before dispatch.
- Subject: a curly-haired boy with a white rose behind his ear cries out as a lizard bites his finger; cherries and a glass vase with a pink rose stand before him.
- Original: c. 1594–1596, oil on canvas, 66 x 49.5 cm, National Gallery, London.
- Ours: the lizard boy painted by hand in oils on canvas by our painter, 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 51 to 156 x 200 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: there are two versions by Caravaggio; the other is kept in Florence by the Fondazione Roberto Longhi.
