A painter of pain : games of wit and ambiguities in Caravaggio's Boy Bitten by a Lizard

Abstract

Looking at Caravaggio's Boy Bitten by a Lizard (fig. 1), what strikes us initially is the femininity of the hand gestures of the youth at the centre and his agonized expression. His effeminate elements are complemented by the flower in his hair and the loose garment exposing his shoulder. Reacting to being bitten by a lizard while reaching for two red cherries, the boy is posed against a greyish wall. On the table in front of him are various fruits of a similar greyish colour, which highlights the cherries, and a glass vase with flowers. The lizard, the cause of the boy's reaction, is barely visible. The boy is dressed in a Roman outfit- a white tunic beneath a brown toga. The red of his lips corresponds to that of the cherries. Red is the only colour that does not blend with the greyish-brown of the rest of the painting.