The Circumcision

The Circumcision, painted by Luca Signorelli around 1490-1491, is an altarpiece showing the Jewish rite through which Jesus received his name, a moment that at the time was linked to devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. The work was commissioned by the local confraternity dedicated to that name for the altar of the Circumcision Chapel in the church of San Francesco in Volterra, where Signorelli was working for the Medici. Following a common Renaissance practice, the scene is combined with the Presentation in the Temple, and Simeon appears in the background. The setting is a sumptuous niche of polychrome marbles with two medallions portraying a prophet and a sibyl, perhaps an allusion to Piero della Francesca's Brera Altarpiece, the master of Signorelli. In front, a crowded scene unfolds, including the Virgin and a woman. The stripes on the garments of the man on the left reflect the fashion of the period, also visible in other contemporary works by the painter. According to the sources consulted, the Child was later repainted by Il Sodoma, a detail worth keeping in mind when looking at the infant figure.

Painter

Luca Signorelli

Date

1490

Medium

oil paint, panel, transferred on canvas

Dimensions

259 × 180 cm

Museum

National Gallery, London

Genre

religious art

Depicts

boy, Mary, woman, circumcision, Christ Child

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