Madonna with the Siskin 1506

Albrecht Dürer’s *Madonna with the Siskin* (1506) portrays the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child who is playing with a siskin, a type of finch. The painting, housed in the Lindenau-Museum in Altenburg, Germany, showcases Dürer’s mastery of detail and realistic depiction. Two cherubs frame the Madonna, with one placing a crown of thorns above her head, a symbolic reference to Christ’s future suffering. The work is a masterpiece of Northern Renaissance art, demonstrating the period’s fascination with both religious iconography and meticulous observation of the natural world.