Carel Fabritius’ painting ‘The Goldfinch’ has not had an easy time of it, particularly in its literary life.
In Donna Tartt’s celebrated novel by the same name (released as a movie this weekend), the painting survived a New York City terrorist attack only to be plucked out of the rubble by a young boy, filched from him by his best friend, traded around the international black market, and then restored to the hallowed halls from whence it came following a dramatic law enforcement rescue.
In real life, ‘The Goldfinch’ was witness to an equally harrowing tragedy, but its fate in the aftermath was a bit more fortunate. In the mid-17th century, the end times came for the Dutch town of Delft, or at least that’s what residents believed.