The Circumcision (Signorelli)
Encyclopedia
The Circumcision is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Luca Signorelli
, housed in the National Gallery
of London
, United Kingdom, and dating to c. 1490-1491.
The work was executed for the altar of the Circumcision Chapel in the church of St. Francis at Volterra
, where he was sojourning under the patronage of the House of Medici. 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 is in the National Gallery since its acquisition in 1882.
. 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 time's fashion, and can be seen in several contemporary paintings, such as the Flagellation Banner by Signorelli himself.
Luca Signorelli
Luca Signorelli was an Italian Renaissance painter who was noted in particular for his ability as a draughtsman and his use of foreshortening...
, housed in the National Gallery
National gallery
The National Gallery is an art gallery on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom.National Gallery may also refer to:*Armenia: National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan*Australia:**National Gallery of Australia, Canberra...
of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom, and dating to c. 1490-1491.
The work was executed for the altar of the Circumcision Chapel in the church of St. Francis at Volterra
Volterra
Volterra, known to the ancient Etruscans as Velathri, to the Romans as Volaterrae, is a town and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy.-History:...
, where he was sojourning under the patronage of the House of Medici. Renaissance art historian and artist Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
saw the painting and described it as damaged by humidity, the Child having been repainted by Il Sodoma
Il Sodoma
Il Sodoma was the name given to the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi. Il Sodoma painted in a manner that superimposed the High Renaissance style of early 16th-century Rome onto the traditions of the provincial Sienese school; he spent the bulk of his professional life in Siena,...
. The painting is in the National Gallery since its acquisition in 1882.
Description
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 FrancescaPiero della Francesca
Piero della Francesca was a painter of the Early Renaissance. As testified by Giorgio Vasari in his Lives of the Artists, to contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca is chiefly appreciated for his art. His painting was characterized by its...
. Before it is the crowded scene taken from the Circumcision of Jesus
Circumcision of Jesus
The Circumcision of Jesus is an event from the life of Jesus of Nazareth according to the Gospel of Luke, which states in verse 2:21 that Jesus was circumcised eight days after his birth...
The stripes on the garments of the man on the left were common in the time's fashion, and can be seen in several contemporary paintings, such as the Flagellation Banner by Signorelli himself.