THE HAGUE / MAURITSHUIS: HET PUTTERTJE (THE GOLDFINCH)

I'd say this is one of my favorite paintings in one of my favorite galleries, but I always say that - don't I?

The painting is quiet and simple. The goldfinch is perched on its feeding box, which is against a whitewashed wall.  Fabritius' signature is written at the bottom, in grey paint - along with the date.  

Mignon, Fruit Still-Life with Squirrel and Goldfinch

Goldfinches were common pets - as early as the Roman Empire.  They sing beautifully, and can, believe it or not, be taught to perform tricks.  People often taught them to open their own feeding boxes and to draw up drinking water with a tiny bucket the size of a thimble.  They were nicknamed het puttertje - from the Dutch putten (means to draw water from a well).  So I think that the entire name would mean 'little water drawer'.  

I think one reason why I like this so much is that Fabritius painted the bird as though he were painting a portrait of a person.  He was the first artist to do that.  Many artists painted goldfinches in their genre paintings and landscapes, or they'd have dead birds in their still lifes. 

The bird's feeding box is unadorned.  Sometimes this type of bird could be a religious symbol because of the splashes of red (blood) and because they eat thistle seeds. (In the bible - 'along with thorns, only thistles will grow after the fall of man'.)  But that's not the meaning of this painting.  Its simply a portrait of a particular goldfinch.  He is seen chained to his box - which was common in those days.  Kinda sad hey?

So about Fabritius - he was born in Amsterdam in 1622, married the girl next door and was a student of Rembrandt.  However, we're talking the 1600s, so ya - he lost his first child in 1640 and his second in 1643.  His wife died later that year.  

Years later, he married a widow from Delft.  He died in a terrible accident (the Delft Thunderclap - hey - I'll tell you about it sometime).  He was only 32.