Madonna and Child with St. John

In Florence, from about 1520 until the end of the 16th century, mannerism emerged in conscious defiance of the High Renaissance. Instead of conforming to the Renaissance conception of idealized proporitions and beauty, mannerist paintings such as Bacchiacca's exhibit exaggerated body proporitions, uncertain spatial settings, and discordant color combinations. The goldfinch, whose preferred habitat was thought to be thorn bushes, represents the crown of thorns and therefore Christ's Passion.