Basket of Fruit:
Caravaggio's "Basket of Fruit" is suppose to be his only independent still-life painting that has survived and been identified. Accordingly, the painting was suppose to represent vital concepts similar to that of a haiku: unpretentious, but at the same time intensely concentrated. the painting also reflected some aspects of the architecture that he had witnessed during his time, from the asymmetrical images of the fruit, to the way they were arranged. In addition to the architectural features, the "Basket of Fruit" also inhibits a great deal of realistic elements that make it follow the laws of nature: fresh dewdrops, the characteristics of each type of leaf, the shapes and features of each type of fruit, and style of the basket, and the fact that the leaves are drooping in response to the lack of sunlight in the environment.
Apparently part of the reason why the fruit was able to be in such great detail was because of something that happened when Caravaggio moved to Rome in 1592. with no money and no recognition, he had no choice but to work as a workshop assistant to Cavaliere d'Arpino. During his time with d'Arpino, Caravaggio was placed in charge of painting any flowers and fruit that were needed in the paintings, which is how he was able to retain practice and recognize what features fruits needed in order to look realistic. After working with d'Arpino, Caravaggio decided to start painting still-lifes, though most of them were of people, not food. I suppose that in some ways, the "Basket of Fruit" was a still-life that represented Caravaggio's past experience as d'Arpino's workshop assistant, showing how he has moved on to create his own masterpieces of his own unique style, while at the same time retaining the skills he has acquired. In the end, however, he decided to stick with still-lifes that had people as the subject, though I suppose that it makes sense since the idea of drawing fruit probably reminds him of his time as a novice that couldn't afford a better way of life.
Caravaggio's "Basket of Fruit" is suppose to be his only independent still-life painting that has survived and been identified. Accordingly, the painting was suppose to represent vital concepts similar to that of a haiku: unpretentious, but at the same time intensely concentrated. the painting also reflected some aspects of the architecture that he had witnessed during his time, from the asymmetrical images of the fruit, to the way they were arranged. In addition to the architectural features, the "Basket of Fruit" also inhibits a great deal of realistic elements that make it follow the laws of nature: fresh dewdrops, the characteristics of each type of leaf, the shapes and features of each type of fruit, and style of the basket, and the fact that the leaves are drooping in response to the lack of sunlight in the environment.
Apparently part of the reason why the fruit was able to be in such great detail was because of something that happened when Caravaggio moved to Rome in 1592. with no money and no recognition, he had no choice but to work as a workshop assistant to Cavaliere d'Arpino. During his time with d'Arpino, Caravaggio was placed in charge of painting any flowers and fruit that were needed in the paintings, which is how he was able to retain practice and recognize what features fruits needed in order to look realistic. After working with d'Arpino, Caravaggio decided to start painting still-lifes, though most of them were of people, not food. I suppose that in some ways, the "Basket of Fruit" was a still-life that represented Caravaggio's past experience as d'Arpino's workshop assistant, showing how he has moved on to create his own masterpieces of his own unique style, while at the same time retaining the skills he has acquired. In the end, however, he decided to stick with still-lifes that had people as the subject, though I suppose that it makes sense since the idea of drawing fruit probably reminds him of his time as a novice that couldn't afford a better way of life.