Baboons with Fruit

Baboons with FruitAttributed to Pellegrino Tibaldi, after Perin del Vaga

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This fresco (1547), attributed to Pellegrino Tibaldi and based on a design by Perin del Vaga, shows two baboons exchanging fruit. Painted beneath the scene of St Michael, it humorously breaks the pictorial frame, playing with illusionistic space. The lively naturalism and wit reflect Renaissance interest in observing and subverting nature within sacred settings.