Hyacinth with Four Cherries, a Lizard, and an Artichoke

This work is one of four studies of plants kept in the Uffizi, Florence. They depart from the more typical compositions by the artist and seem akin to botanical tables. In the present work the artist depicts a Hyacinthus orientalis, native to Mesopotamia but already grown in Italy by 1590. The unnaturally positioned feet of the lizard indicate that the animal was likely a scientific specimen.