Goldfinch & Thistle
Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.
-Emily Dickinson
The goldfinch is rich in symbolism.The goldfinch, appearing in hundreds of Renaissance paintings depicting Madonna and Child (Virgin Mary & Child Jesus) represents the foreknowledge Jesus and Mary had of the Crucifixion.
Its symbolic meaning stems form its elaborate plumage and its feeding habits. Goldfinches have red cheeks and in the medieval mindset, these were acquired while the bird was trying to remove Christ's crown of thorns in an act of mercy. Goldfinches also eat thistle seeds and together these two things associate the bird with Christ’s Passion and his crown of thorns.
European Goldfinch on Thistle
Sony A77ii
Tamron 150-600
420mm, 1/500s, f/6.3, ISO 640
May 2018
Sant Just, Barcelona, Spain