SDL supports PNG natively starting with the pre-release v3.3.4: GitHub repository

EXE: sprite-animation-sdl-image-png-sdl-3.3.4-c-exe.zip (zip - 1.27 MB, unzipped - 3.01 MB)

Source code: GitHub repository

This example uses the following free image: https://opengameart.org/content/crate-5