Mint Museum
Through October 25, 2026
Caravaggio’s Boy Bitten by a Lizard is a rare treasure as fewer than 60 works in total are attributed to Caravaggio who died at the young age of 38. Surrounding Boy Bitten by a Lizard are paintings created by other leading Baroque masters who painted in the style of Caravaggio, including Matthias Stomer, Valentin d Boulogne, and Jusepe de Ribera.
Featuring one original masterpiece by Caravaggio and more than 40 works by Baroque masters, the exhibition shines a light on how Caravaggio's radical realism transformed not only painting, but the very language of modern film, photography, and popular culture.
All paintings on view are on loan from the Roberto Longhi Foundation located in Florence, Italy. Together, these works illuminate the extraordinary impact of Caravaggio’s use of shadow and light, realism, and dramatic intensity on an entire generation painters.
Caravaggio’s revolutionary use of light and shadow, known as “chiaroscuro,” paired with his unflinching depiction of the non-idealized masses shattered the polished conventions of 17th-century art. His emotionally charged realism shocked his contemporaries and ignited a movement that swept across Europe.
Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio (Italian, 1571–1610). Boy bitten by a lizard, circa 1597, oil on canvas. Florence, Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell’Arte Roberto Longhi.
Matthias Stom or Stomer (Dutch, possibly Flemish, 1600–50). Annunciation of Samson’s birth, circa 1630–32, oil on canvas. Florence, Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell’Arte Roberto Longhi.
Jusepe de Ribera (Spanish, 1591–1652). St. Thomas, circa 1612, oil on canvas. Florence, Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell’Arte Roberto Longhi.
Valentin de Boulogne, known as Le Valentin (French, 1591–1632). Denial of St. Peter, 1615–17, oil on canvas. Florence, Fondazione di Studi di Storia dell’Arte Roberto Longhi.
