Why it matters
A life-sized goldfinch sits chained to its perch, painted as a trompe-l'œil on a small panel. Fabritius dated it 1654, the year he was killed in the Delft gunpowder explosion; the painting may have been in his workshop at the time.
Did you know?
- It was lost for more than two centuries before being rediscovered in Brussels.
- It has been in the Mauritshuis since 1896.
- Donna Tartt's novel The Goldfinch won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize.
- Goldfinches were popular pets and could be taught to lift a tiny bucket of water.
Based on the Wikipedia article The Goldfinch (painting) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
