Madonna of the Goldfinch by Raphael and Golden Rectangles

Successive Golden Rectangles dividing a Golden Rectangle into squares. St John holds a goldfinch.

The Madonna del Cardellino by Raphael is notable for its use of geometric principles in its composition. Raphael employed the principles of linear perspective to create a sense of depth and spatial relationships between the figures and the surrounding environment. He also used the Golden Ratio, a mathematical proportion found in nature, to create a harmonious balance of shapes and forms.

The Madonna and Child are positioned in the center of the composition, with Saint John the Baptist off to the side. The three figures are arranged in a triangular composition, which helps to create a sense of balance and stability. The use of light and shadow, as well as the positioning of the figures and the goldfinch, also contribute to the overall sense of harmony and balance in the painting.

Overall, the Madonna del Cardellino is a masterful example of how geometry can be used to create beauty and harmony in art. Raphael's careful attention to proportion, composition, and perspective helped to create a work of art that is both aesthetically pleasing and emotionally moving.

Madonna del cardellino by Raphael
The Madonna del cardellino or Madonna of the Goldfinch is a painting by the Italian renaissance artist Raphael, from c. 1505-1506. A 10-year restoration process was completed in 2008, after which the painting was returned to its home at the Uffizi in Florence. Read more.

Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world. Building of the palace was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates. Source: Wikipedia, Uffizi.

Goldfinch
The European Goldfinch or Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a small passerine bird in the finch family.
In Madonna of the Goldfinch, John the Baptist offers the goldfinch to Christ in warning of his future.

Golden rectangle
A golden rectangle is a rectangle whose side lengths are in the golden ratio, one-to-phi, that is, approximately 1:1.618. A distinctive feature of this shape is that when a square section is removed, the remainder is another golden rectangle, that is, with the same proportions as the first. Square removal can be repeated infinitely, which leads to an approximation of the golden or Fibonacci spiral.

Droste Effect
The Droste effect is a specific kind of recursive picture, one that in heraldry is termed mise en abyme. An image exhibiting the Droste effect depicts a smaller version of itself in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. This smaller version then depicts an even smaller version of itself in the same place, and so on. Only in theory could this go on forever; practically, it continues only as long as the resolution of the picture allows, which is relatively short, since each iteration geometrically reduces the picture's size. It is a visual example of a strange loop, a self-referential system of instancing which is the cornerstone of fractal geometry. Source: Wikipedia, Droste Effect.