DÜRER, Albrecht
(b. 1471, Nürnberg, d. 1528, Nürnberg)

Madonna with the Siskin (detail)

1506
Oil on poplar panel
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

The Madonna with the Siskin was created at the same time as the Feast of the Rose Garlands (Národní Galerie, Prague), and it was strongly influenced by Italian models, in particular the Madonna paintings by Giovanni Bellini. Moved right into the foreground of the scene, Mary and the Christ Child are enthroned, crowned by two putti. Jesus is carrying a siskin, the symbol of Christ's Salvation, on his arm and Mary is holding a book, the symbol of the "sedes sapientiae", the Mother of God as the seat of eternal wisdom. The small St John the Baptist, accompanied by an angel and complete with his customary attributes of fur cloak and cross-shaped staff, is offering Mary two lilies of the valley - symbols of the Virgin. The picture radiates emotional warmth and immediacy by means of the shining harmonious colours and the human features of the Mother of God, and this may have contributed to its popularity.