Boy with a Basket of Fruit

Caravaggio did not idealize his paintings. The fruits and leaves on the basket are so realistic that a horticulturalist was able to identify the individual cultivars in the painting. The imperfections such as insect damage and disease symptoms on the leaves are also noticeable in the painting.
Caravaggio might be attempting to recreate lost paintings from the ancient world. The Roman author Pliny the Elder described a painting of grapes by the Greek artist Zeuxis which were so realistic that birds tried to peck them.