Circumcision of Jesus

This Circumcision of Jesus by Andrea Mantegna, held in the Uffizi Gallery, depicts the ritual circumcision of Christ on the eighth day after his birth, as recounted in Luke 2:21. Painted around 1461, the work shows Mantegna's fascination with ancient architecture and religious ritual, presenting the scene within an elaborately detailed classical setting. The subject had both religious significance — as the first shedding of Christ's blood, prefiguring the Passion — and provided an opportunity for Mantegna to display his mastery of classical architectural decoration and the ancient world he studied with passionate intensity.

The painting showcases Mantegna's extraordinary attention to classical architectural detail, with the temple setting rendered with the precision of an archaeological reconstruction. The figures are modeled with his characteristic sculptural hardness, their draperies falling in crisp, angular folds, while the perspective construction creates a convincing spatial recession.