Madonna del cardellino

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Madonna del cardellino (Madonna of the Goldfinch)
Raphael, 1505-1506
Oil on wood
107 × 77 cm
Uffizi, Florence

The Madonna del cardellino or Madonna of the Goldfinch is a painting by the Italian renaissance artist Raphael, from c. 1505-1506. The painting belongs to the Uffizi in Florence and is now being restored. It is replaced by an antique copy until the restoration is ready.

In this painting, as in most of the Madonnas of his Florentine period, Raphael arranged the three figures - Mary, Christ and the young John the Baptist - to fit into a geometrical design. Though the positions of the three bodies are natural, together they form an almost regular triangle.

The Virgin is holding a book, with identifies her as Sedes Sapientiae ("Seat of Wisdom"). The goldfinch is a symbol of Christ's future violent death. St. John offers the goldfinch to Christ in warning of his future.

The Madonna was a wedding gift from Raphael to his friend Lorenzo Nasi. On November 17, 1548 Nasi's house was destroyed by an earthquake and the painting broke into seventeen pieces. It was restored shortly afterwards, but the damage is still visible.

In some versions of Vasari another similar painting is described as the Vallombrosa version but it has never been identified.

On Tuesday 1st April 2008 The Daily Telegraph p.16 carried a news report of the successful restoration, and the article was illustrated by a very useful three panelled image showing the centuries of grime, the tears caused by the earthquake, and the colours of the final restoration.