UFFIZI, Raphael-Madonna Of The Goldfinch_Room A38

Although Raphael died suddenly at only 37 years of age, he was one of the most important artists of his time, thanks in part to his ability to learn the techniques of his colleagues and even improve on them.

An example of this is the Madonna of the Goldfinch, painted when he was only twenty-two years old, partly under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci. Of the latter, in fact, he had admired the idea of arranging the figures in a pyramidal composition, giving the right prominence to each character.

The painting takes its name from the bird that St John, on the left, holds out to the Child Jesus. You should know that in artwork the goldfinch, as well as the robin, symbolize the sacrifice of Jesus, who died on the cross. According to one legend, goldfinches, finches and robins have red spotted coats because they were hurt as they tried to remove the thorns from Christ's forehead during his martyrdom....