Donated to the Bologna Pinacoteca by the art historian Sir Denis Mahon, the painting is the most extraordinary evidence of the tender poetics developed by Guercino since his youth. Guercino shows us a snapshot of the relationship between the Virgin and the Child, without pretending solemnity. The close-up composition presents an everyday scene of a mother enfolding her chubby child in her arms while she shows him a sparrow held to her finger by a thin thread. Enraptured and curious, the child tries to grasp the woman’s garment to feel safer. The meaning of the sparrow as a symbol of man’s future salvation remains in the background compared to the emotional truth of the family scene. The soft, warm light contributes to the sense of everyday intimacy, the chiaroscuro caresses the rounded forms with fulsome and fluent brushstrokes and reveals the natural, affectionate gestures.