The Circumcision
Aurelio Lomi (Pisa 1556-1622)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1593 - 1594
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1562 x 994 mm (61½ x 39 1/8 in)
Place of origin
Pisa
Order this imageCollection
Petworth House and Park, West Sussex
NT 2900157
Caption
Described in the biblical gospel of Luke (2:21) and in accordance with the Jewish law of Moses, the infant was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem to be circumcised and named Jesus (saviour) when he was eight days old (now on January 1). Set in an imaginary, mannerist architectural space with elaborate, twisted solomonic columns, the artist shows a naked child submitting to the operation. It takes place at the back but in the centre and Christ is supported by a High Priest (Simeon), who holds the knife, and two attendants, while Joseph stands behind on the left and the Virgin Mary kneels in front of the altar. The event was significant as it was the first time that Christ shed blood (beginning of the redemption of man). The scene is full of bystanders conversing amongst themselves, even though there is no account of their presence in the Bible. Women both left and right have brought baskets of doves (a typical offering) and the one on the left who holds her baby was perhaps intended to be next in line. The man on the far right looking out could be the donor of the picture or a self-portrait. Aurelio Lomi, whose half-brother and pupil was Orazio Gentileschi, has several works in the churches and cathedral of Pisa but also spent several years in Florence under Bronzino and Ludovico Cardi (Cigoli). This picture was possibly an altarpiece for a confraternity who venerated the Holy Name.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Circumcision, by Aurelio Lomi (Pisa 1556-1622), 1593/94. The scene shows the Christ child being circumcised, surrounded by his parents and a crowd of other figures in a temple. The composition can be compared with Lomi's Presentation in the Temple, the vast canvas completed in 1595 for the Duomo in Pisa (see R.P. Ciardi, Aurelio Lomi, maniera e innovazione, Pisa, 1989. p. 52, fig. X). Additionally, a document has been discovered in Italy which shows the artist received payment of 69 lire in 1594 for gilding its original frame.
Provenance
Almost certainly acquired by Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland (1602-1668), and recorded in the 1671 Petworth House picture list (as by Giorgio Vasari); hung in the Picture Room (now Red Room) at Petworth by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (1662-1748); taken to Egremont House, London, by Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont (1710-63) and reframed for him by cabinet-maker Samuel Norman (?1731-1782 or later); hung in the North Gallery and then in the Somerset Room at Petworth by George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont (1751-1837); listed in the 1837 Petworth inventory (as attributed to Bronzino); thence by descent at Petworth; purchased by the National Trust at auction at Christie's, King Street, London, 10 July 2015 (lot 154), with support from a fund set up by the late Hon. Simon Sainsbury (1930 – 2006).
Makers and roles
Aurelio Lomi (Pisa 1556-1622), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Aurelio Lomi (Pisa 1556-1622), artist previously catalogued as by Giorgio Vasari (Arezzo 1511 – Florence 1574), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Lambert Lombard (Liège 1506 – Liège 1566), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Agnolo Bronzino (Monticelli 1503 - Florence 1572), artist Samuel Norman (fl.1746-1782), framemaker
References
Collins Baker 1920 C.H.Collins Baker, Catalogue of the Petworth Collection of Pictures, in the possession of Lord Leconfield, privately printed by the Medici Society, London, 1920, p. 79, no. 17 Ciardi 1989 R.P. Ciardi, Aurelio Lomi, maniera e innovazione, Pisa, 1989, p. 52, fig. X Remastered - Bosch to Bellotto: An Exhibition of Petworth's European Old Masters (exh cat) (Andrew Loukes) Petworth House, West Sussex, 9 January - 6 March 2016, cat. 5, p. 10