The Circumcision
Luca Signorelli
Luca Signorelli was an Italian Renaissance painter who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening.
Max Resolution:400×565 PX
Title:The Circumcision
Artists:Luca Signorelli
Date:c.1490 - c.1495
Style:High Renaissance
Genre:religious painting
Location:National Gallery, London, UK
Dimensions:258.5×180 cm
Copyright:Public domain
The Circumcision is a painting of the Circumcision of Jesus by the Italian Renaissance painter Luca Signorelli, in the National Gallery in London, dated to c. 1490–1491.
The Circumcision was also the occasion of the naming of Jesus, and by this period the emphasis of Catholic devotion was on the Holy Name of Jesus. The work was commissioned by the local Confraternity of the Holy Name of Jesus for the altar of the Circumcision Chapel in the church of San Francesco, Volterra, where Signorelli was working for the Medicis. Like many Renaissance versions of the subject it conflates it with the Presentation of Jesus by including at the rear Simeon. The Renaissance art historian and artist Giorgio Vasari saw the painting and described it as damaged by humidity, the Child having been repainted by Il Sodoma. The painting was acquired by the National Gallery in 1882.
The background is formed by a sumptuous niche with polychrome marbles, with two medallions portraying a Prophet and a Sibyl. It is perhaps a citation of the Brera Altarpiece by Signorelli's master, Piero della Francesca. Before it is the crowded scene taken from the Circumcision of Jesus
The stripes on the garments of the man on the left were common in the fashion of the time, and can be seen in several contemporary paintings, such as the Flagellation Banner by Signorelli himself.
The Circumcision was also the occasion of the naming of Jesus, and by this period the emphasis of Catholic devotion was on the Holy Name of Jesus. The work was commissioned by the local Confraternity of the Holy Name of Jesus for the altar of the Circumcision Chapel in the church of San Francesco, Volterra, where Signorelli was working for the Medicis. Like many Renaissance versions of the subject it conflates it with the Presentation of Jesus by including at the rear Simeon. The Renaissance art historian and artist Giorgio Vasari saw the painting and described it as damaged by humidity, the Child having been repainted by Il Sodoma. The painting was acquired by the National Gallery in 1882.
The background is formed by a sumptuous niche with polychrome marbles, with two medallions portraying a Prophet and a Sibyl. It is perhaps a citation of the Brera Altarpiece by Signorelli's master, Piero della Francesca. Before it is the crowded scene taken from the Circumcision of Jesus
The stripes on the garments of the man on the left were common in the fashion of the time, and can be seen in several contemporary paintings, such as the Flagellation Banner by Signorelli himself.