1505 (ca.), Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio), Madonna and Child with the Young St. John the Baptist ("Madonna of the Goldfinch") -- Uffizi Gallery (Florence)
From the museum label: The red plumage of the goldfinch in the young St. John the Baptist's hands alludes to the blood and sacrifice of Christ's Passion. The picture was painted in 1505 to celebrate the marriage of Florentine merchant Lorenzo Nasi, one of several patrons vying for the artists of greatest renown at the time of Pier Soderini's Florentine Republic (1502-12). One of Raphael's best loved works, the painting was hung in the Tribune in 1704 after the Medici family had purchased it in the 17th century.
1505 (ca.), Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio), Madonna and Child with the Young St. John the Baptist ("Madonna of the Goldfinch") -- Uffizi Gallery (Florence)
From the museum label: The red plumage of the goldfinch in the young St. John the Baptist's hands alludes to the blood and sacrifice of Christ's Passion. The picture was painted in 1505 to celebrate the marriage of Florentine merchant Lorenzo Nasi, one of several patrons vying for the artists of greatest renown at the time of Pier Soderini's Florentine Republic (1502-12). One of Raphael's best loved works, the painting was hung in the Tribune in 1704 after the Medici family had purchased it in the 17th century.