The finely dressed small boy is Francesco Maria Sforza, son of Gian Galeazzo and Isabella d'Aragona. He was nicknamed 'il duchetto' (the little duke) because in 1494 when he was about 3 years old he became titular Duke of Milan. The adult gravitas with which the child is portrayed reflects the importance of his status. Children often kept goldfinches as pets but the bird he holds also symbolized the Passion and was a talisman against evil. The artist was originally thought to be Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis, but this was later questioned and the attribution became Milanese School. In 2011, it was reattributed to Giovanni Marco D'Oggiono who worked in Milan and was influenced by Leonardo da Vinci.9http://artuk.org/discover/artworks/francesco-maria-sforza-14911512-il-duchetto-188455)