The Goldfinch 1654

"The Goldfinch" (1654) by Carel Fabritius is a small oil painting on canvas depicting a goldfinch perched on a wooden shelf. The bird, rendered in meticulous detail, is the central focus of the composition. The painting is notable for its realistic depiction of light and shadow, a signature style of Fabritius, who was a pupil of Rembrandt. This work, now in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, Netherlands, is one of the few surviving paintings by Fabritius, who tragically died in the Delft explosion of 1654.