Everything must pass

The shrivelling vine leaves remind us that time passes, inexorably, for everything.

A waxy sheen

With its attention to the tinest details, Caravaggio's painting is a prototype of the "still life" genre that would become so popular in later centuries, especially in Holland.

Fine wickerwork

Caravaggio's careful attention to the basket's weave is characteristic of his acute realism, which he often applied to human subjects.