Jago's marble guns confront Caravaggio's fruit basket at Milan's Ambrosiana

From May 8 to November 4, 2025, the Pinacoteca of the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan presents a dialogue between Jago's new marble sculpture 'Natura morta' and Caravaggio's 'Canestra di frutta' (1597–1600). Jago (Jacopo Cardillo, b. 1987) replaces fruit with pistols, bullets, and machine guns in a white marble basket, contrasting Caravaggio's allegory of life's transience with a stark commentary on war and violence. The work was not originally conceived for this context; Arthemisia, in communication with the Ambrosiana, proposed the pairing after learning of the sculpture. Jago stated he 'would not have dared' such a conversation. The exhibition is part of the Ambrosiana's broader contemporary art program, which includes a Nicola Samorì show in November curated by Demetrio Paparoni with Eike Schmidt and Mons. Alfredo Rocca. Critic Helga Marsala notes the risk of the visceral marble weapons clashing with Caravaggio's poetic subtlety.