Caravaggio, Basket of Fruit

Description

Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit, painted between 1596 and 1601, is an iconic still life preserved at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan. The work depicts a basket filled with fruit, including apples, figs, grapes and a dry, crumpled leaf, with striking realism. The grazing light enhances the details and natural flaws of the fruit, suggesting a sense of the transience and transience of life. This work, among the first autonomous still lifes in Italian painting, demonstrates Caravaggio's mastery in observing reality and treating light.