Madonna of the Goldfinch
c. 1767/1770
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 62 x 49.5 cm (24 7/16 x 19 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CIS-B
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston
Accession Number
1997.60.1
Art Historical Context
In the serene *Madonna of the Goldch*, Giovanni Battista Tolo captures a tender moment between the Virgin Mary and the Child around 1767–1770. This intimate oil on canvas, measuring just 62 x 49.5 cm, depicts the Madonna gently holding the infant Jesus, who playfully reaches for a goldfinch perched nearby. The bird, a cherished symbol in Christian iconography, represents the Passion of Christ—its diet of thorns echoing the crown of thorns—adding layers of spiritual depth to this devotional scene. Tiepolo, a leading figure of the Venetian Rococo, masterfully employs his signature luminous pale...
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo · 1696–1770
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) stands as the greatest decorative painter of eighteenth-century Europe, a Venetian master whose luminous frescoes and dynamic compositions defined the Rococo era's aesthetic zenith. Born in Venice on March 5, 1696, to a modest shipping merchant family, Tiepolo's extraordinary talent transcended his humble origins to establish him as the most sought-after artis...