This painting is a copy of The Goldfinch by the Dutch Golden Age artist Carel Fabritius. The painting is now in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The work is a trompe-l’œil oil on panel measuring 33.5 by 22.8 cm. it was possibly part of a larger structure, perhaps a window jamb or cupboard. The painting may have been in the artists studio in Delft at the time of the gunpowder explosion that killed the aspiring 32 year old along with many other citizens. The explosion destroyed much of the city, not surprising since 90,000 of explosives went up in smoke. On the 12th of October 1654 around 100 people died, however it is suspected that there were many more dead and injured. No official records remain.

The beautiful but bored looking song bird was a popular pet in the Netherlands, and could be trained to lift a thimble-sized bucket of water attached to a chain. It was reputedly a bringer of good health and fertility, and was used in Italian Renaissance painting as a symbol of Christian faith and the Passion of Jesus. The goldfinch appeared in many religious paintings.

The goldfinch’s specialism is to pick seeds from thorns, and legend has it that the little bird was attempting to pick the thorns form Jesus’s crown; in doing so, the blood of Christ dripped onto the birds face. The goldfinch was then forever stained with the blood of Christ and remained red forever.

My version looks like a carbon copy, however, whilst attempting to drill a hole in the wall at home I used a poorly printed copy of the goldfinch to catch the plaster and dust. In seeing this debris on the printout I decided that I would include the debris. Would this be how it would have looked in the wreckage of his studio? The original painting had evidence of damage that could have been sustained in the explosion. It’s a tiny addition, but hopefully one that will challenge the viewer to question why bits of plaster are strewn across the canvas.

For more information about the Goldfinch click here

Source: https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-collection/artworks/605-the-goldfinch/