The Morgan Library & Museum will present Caravaggio’s “Boy with a Basket of Fruit” in Focus, celebrating the extraordinary loan of this important early masterpiece by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) from the Galleria Borghese in Rome. On view from January 16 through April 19, 2026, the exhibition showcases what can be considered Caravaggio’s first masterpiece alongside a group of ten works that place the painting in context, from the artist’s influences to those he influenced. Trained in his native Lombardy, Caravaggio brought to Rome a tradition of naturalism that stretched back to Leonardo da Vinci’s work in Milan. He combined this tradition with a revolutionary approach to painting that shattered the illusion of art and celebrated the artifice of the studio. Boy with a Basket of Fruit (ca. 1595), in which these key elements of Caravaggio’s art come together for the first time, marks the beginning of a revolution in Italian painting.
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) (1571–1610), Boy with a Basket of Fruit, ca. 1595. Oil on canvas. Galleria Borghese, Rome © Galleria Borghese / ph. Mauro Coen.
Caravaggio captures the imagination in a way that almost no other artist can,” said Colin B. Bailey, Katharine J. Rayner Director of the Morgan Library & Museum. “We are exceptionally fortunate to be able to bring this masterpiece from the Galleria Borghese to share with visitors in New York for the first time in the twenty-first century, accompanied by works that illuminate his impact on the field of painting.”
“Boy with a Basket of Fruit marks a turning point in Italian painting,” said John Marciari, Charles W. Engelhard Curator, Department Head of Drawings and Prints, and Director of Curatorial Affairs. “It is a linchpin between the naturalism of Caravaggio’s sources and his radical interventions in exposing the artifice of painting. To see this painting in context is to understand the revolution it represents.”
With his parted lips, flushed ears, and shirt slipping from his shoulder, the boy in the painting is far from the idealized figures typically depicted in Roman painting at the time. Caravaggio painted neither a god nor a saint, but an artist’s model, captured on the canvas and seemingly offered to us for examination, much like the fruit the boy presents to the viewer.
The exhibition juxtaposes this remarkable work with some precedents for its naturalism, including earlier paintings from Milan, such as
Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527–1593), Four Seasons in One Head, ca. 1590. Oil on panel. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Paul Mellon Fund.
Other precedents include
Boy Drinking (ca. 1583) by Caravaggio’s slightly older contemporary Annibale Carracci (1560–1609).
A significant loan from a private collection, this painting has never been on public view.
Also exhibited are two works by Caravaggio’s early mentors and influences: a drawing by Simone Peterzano (ca. 1535–1599), who was the young Caravaggio’s teacher in Milan, and a study by Giuseppe Cesari (1568–1640), in whose studio Caravaggio worked in Rome.
Although Caravaggio would eventually turn away from preparatory drawings in favor of painting directly on the canvas, these works provide context for his training.
The installation also includes a selection of works that document the powerful impact Caravaggio had on Roman art, including
Rutilio Manetti (1571–1639), A Life Study: A Monk Sleeping against a Pile of Books, ca. 1616. Red chalk. Morgan Library & Museum, New York, purchased on the Fairfax Murray Society Fund; 2019.102. Photography by Janny Chiu.
and
Bartolomeo Cavarozzi (1587–1625) Basket of Fruit, ca. 1620 Oil on canvas The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Errol M. Rudman, 2020, 2020.263.5.
These show the ways in which the artists who followed Caravaggio continued to reveal the fiction of art, from highlighting the real-life models who sat for them to emphasizing the imperfections in the subjects of their still-life paintings.
The exhibition concludes with the Morgan’s remarkable portrait drawing of Cardinal Scipione Borghese (1577–1633) by Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598–1680).
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) Portrait of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, ca. 1632 Red chalk over graphite The Morgan Library & Museum, IV, 176. Photography by Steven H. Crossot.
Borghese, the collector largely responsible for the Galleria Borghese, was the early owner of Boy with a Basket of Fruit, which has been part of the Borghese collection since 1607.
Caravaggio’s “Boy with a Basket of Fruit” in Focus is curated by John Marciari, Charles W. Engelhard Curator, Department Head of Drawings and Prints, and Director of Curatorial Affairs.
An illustrated brochure with an introductory essay written by Marciari will be offered in the gallery at no charge to visitors thanks to the generosity of the Foundation for Italian Art & Culture (FIAC).
Organization and Sponsorship Caravaggio's "Boy with a Basket of Fruit" in Focus is organized by the Morgan Library & Museum in collaboration with the Foundation for Italian Art & Culture (FIAC).
MORE IMAGES
Attributed to Marco d’Oggiono (ca. 1467– 1524) Girl with Cherries, ca. 1491–95 Oil on panel The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1890, 91.26.5.
Giuseppe Cesari, known as the Cavaliere d’Arpino (1568–1640) Study of a Young Man, ca. 1594–95 Black chalk The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of János Scholz, 1979.47. Photography by Steven H. Crossot.
Francesco Rustici, known as Rustichino (1592–1626) Head of a Youth, ca. 1620 Black and white chalk on light brown paper The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of János Scholz, 1979.50. Photography by Steven H. Crossot.
