Madonna of the Goldfinch

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, c. 1767/1770

Shown from the chest up, a young woman faces us holding a nude baby in her arms in this vertical painting. They both have pale, peachy skin with pink cheeks. The woman has an oval face with a thin nose, and her coral-pink, bow mouth is closed. She looks down and to our left with dark eyes under arched brows. Her hair is covered by a white veil, and an azure-blue mantle is draped over her rose-pink robe. She cradles the plump child in her crossed arms. The baby has short, wavy, copper-red hair framing a round, flushed face with a button nose, peach lips, and hazel eyes that look at us. He holds a bird in his left hand, on our right. The bird has an off-white body with charcoal-gray wings and neck, and a strawberry-red face. A delicate chain wraps around the bird’s foot, and the baby holds the end in his other hand, up by his chest. A golden brown curtain covers most of the space behind the pair, except for a sliver of stone-gray wall to our left.
Artist
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Date
c. 1767/1770
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
62 × 49.5 cm
Collection
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licence
Public domain, CC0

Image description

Shown from the chest up, a young woman faces us holding a nude baby in her arms in this vertical painting. They both have pale, peachy skin with pink cheeks. The woman has an oval face with a thin nose, and her coral-pink, bow mouth is closed. She looks down and to our left with dark eyes under arched brows. Her hair is covered by a white veil, and an azure-blue mantle is draped over her rose-pink robe. She cradles the plump child in her crossed arms. The baby has short, wavy, copper-red hair framing a round, flushed face with a button nose, peach lips, and hazel eyes that look at us. He holds a bird in his left hand, on our right. The bird has an off-white body with charcoal-gray wings and neck, and a strawberry-red face. A delicate chain wraps around the bird’s foot, and the baby holds the end in his other hand, up by his chest. A golden brown curtain covers most of the space behind the pair, except for a sliver of stone-gray wall to our left.

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo