''The Circumcision'' is an oil on canvas painting of the

Circumcision of Jesus The circumcision of Jesus is an event from the life of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke Luke 2, chapter 2, which states: And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcision, circumcise the child, his name was called Jesus, the name called by ...

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

, produced in 1605 during his stay in Rome. It is now in the

Chiesa del Gesù e dei Santi Ambrogio e Andrea Chiesa (Italian, 'church') may refer to: People with the surname *Andrea Chiesa (born 1966), Swiss Formula One racer *Anthony della Chiesa (1394–1459), Italian Dominican friar *Bruno della Chiesa (born 1962), European linguist *Deborah Chiesa (b ...

church in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. It was commissioned by Marcello Pallavicino, vestryman of the Casa Professa of Jesuits in Genoa. It is mainly influenced by

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

n paintings from the court of

Vincenzo Gonzaga Vincenzo Gonzaga may refer to: *Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (1562–1612) *Vincenzo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (1594–1627) *Vicente de Gonzaga y Doria (1602–1694), known in Italian as Vincenzo Gonzaga Doria *Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Gua ...

, with a strongly foreshortened viewpoint. There is another version of the subject by the artist, in the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

References

Bibliography

*G. Bertelli, G. Briganti, A. Giuliano, ''Storia dell'Arte Italiana'', vol. 3, p. 299, Roma 2009, Edizioni Scolastiche Bruno Mondadori {{DEFAULTSORT:Circumcision, The 1605 paintings Paintings by Peter Paul Rubens Paintings of the Circumcision of Christ Angels in art Paintings in Genoa Oil on canvas paintings