Caravaggio’s Boy Bitten by a Lizard exists in two very similar versions, one from 1594–95, held in London at the National Gallery, and the other from 1596–97, held in Florence at the Fondazione Roberto Longhi. Last June, the National Gallery’s Web site chose the image as its Picture of the Month, and the scholar Holly James Johnston wrote of the many ways this early Caravaggio is perceived. To begin with, it’s a still life that contains a figure (the boy). “The painting possesses all the hallmarks of a still life—glossy fruits, sweet-smelling flowers, small creatures. But here, the lizard is not merely a static component—it is doing something. And by making the lizard do something, Caravaggio introduces a narrative.” There is vivid emotion in the work, and some have read it as a Biblical allegory. In the early 1970s, scholars began to see the boy through a lens of homoeroticism; then again, he may be Caravaggio himself. In short, the two paintings are endlessly fascinating. Now, from Florence, Boy Bitten by a Lizard comes to St. Petersburg, Florida—a rare trip abroad and an equally rare chance for Americans to see the work. It will be presented with other Baroque masterpieces by artists such as Valentin de Boulogne, Jusepe de Ribera, Carlo Saraceni, and Matthias Stomer, all from the distinguished collection built by the Italian scholar and curator Roberto Longhi (1890–1970). —Laura Jacobs