Carel Fabritius
Today is #WorldAnimalDay!
The Goldfinch presents a life-sized chained goldfinch on top of a feeder—a blue container with a lid, enclosed by two wooden half-rings fixed to the wall. This colorful bird was a popular pet, and could be taught simple tricks including lifting a thimble-sized bucket of water. It was reputedly a bringer of good health and good fortune, and was used in Italian Renaissance painting as a symbol of Christian redemption and the Passion of Jesus.
When it was created, the painting was part of a larger structure, perhaps a decorative panel for a box or a protective cover. Its author, Carel Fabritius, was one of the most notable Dutch painters of the period. There are suggestions (with no evidence though) that Johannes Vermeer, who used similar pale walls lit by sunlight was Fabritius's student. Fabritius died aged 32, caught in the explosion of the Delft gunpowder magazine on October 12, 1654, that killed at least 100 people and destroyed a quarter of the city, including his studio and many of his paintings. Few of his works are known to have survived. The Goldfinch was painted in the year Fabritius died. It is possible that the painting was in its creator's workshop in Delft at the time of the gunpowder explosion.
This beautiful goldfinch is featured in our 50 Masterpieces Postcards, which includes the most famous, classic, and amazing paintings from the Western Art History.
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P.S. Learn more about the novel and movie based on this tiny magnificent painting. <3