Vouet painted a few small scale pictures of the Virgin and Child in the late 1630s which can be dated from the surviving engravings.  All these compositions are variations on the same theme each one with slight differences in the poses and the introduction of extra elements.  Here the unusual feature is the finch which was common in the Renaissance but much rarer in the Baroque.  The finch was much prized in the ancient world for its song and its ability to be tamed in captivity.  The other small scale picture of this type (53 x 38cm) is in a Paris private collection and was engraved by Jacques Daret in 1638.  It is likely that the painting was intended as a devotional work for a private patron owing to its refined and precious quality which includes the use of the unmistakable blue, lapis lazuli.

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