19/01/23 - The Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague keeps in its permanent collection a small painting by Carel Fabritius (Netherlands, 1622-1654) called The Goldfinch, a portrait of a small bird on a white background. The work is from 1654, the same year the artist died, at the age of 32 in Delft, due to an explosion. Despite the fact that his production is scarce, only 12 paintings are recorded, each of them a masterpiece. In the case of The Goldfinch, the veracity of the plumage and the expression of the bird define it as "trompe-l'oeil" due to its charming realism. Observed from a very close distance, the bird looks as if it were alive due to the amount of detail, in addition to how well-preserved the painting is (which does not happen with Girl with a Pearl Earring, which is exhibited in the next room, and has lost its mystery due to the continuous restorations).

The Goldfinch is also the title of a book by Donna Tartt, which tells the story of this painting being saved by a boy from an explosion at the MET Museum in New York (?), where his mother dies. The painting is believed to be lost but Theodor Decker (the name of the main character) hides it in his room. A movie was made based in this book but it wasn't very successful.