Seated on an elaborate throne, the Virgin's weighty majesty emphasizes her role as the Queen of Heaven. At the same time, she holds the infant Christ tenderly and looks down warmly to the side. To the right flutters a goldfinch, which has just flown from Christ's upraised hand. Legend holds that a goldfinch, a bird that nests in thorny trees, removed a painful spine from Christ's crown of thorns. A drop of Christ's blood fell on the goldfinch, forever giving the bird it's red markings.
The artist's name is not known, although he was a highly trained professional. The painter is named after an altarpiece in the church of San Lucchese in Poggibonsi, near Siena. Because Cleveland's picture is identical in style, it is also attributed to that master.
cxd
<P>Seated on an elaborate throne, the Virgin's weighty majesty emphasizes her role as the Queen of Heaven. At the same time, she holds the infant Christ tenderly and looks down warmly to the side. To the right flutters a goldfinch, which has just flown from Christ's upraised hand. Legend holds that a goldfinch, a bird that nests in thorny trees, removed a painful spine from Christ's crown of thorns. A drop of Christ's blood fell on the goldfinch, forever giving the bird it's red markings.</p><p>The artist's name is not known, although he was a highly trained professional. The painter is named after an altarpiece in the church of San Lucchese in Poggibonsi, near Siena. Because Cleveland's picture is identical in style, it is also attributed to that master.</p>
Context
false