Circumcision Of Jesus (Parmigianino) on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The ''Circumcision of Jesus'', a painting by the Italian
The painting is known with certainty only starting from the 1830s, when it was part of the Russian imperial collection and was copied in an 1851 etching by J.W. Muxel. In 1917 it was acquired at Stockholm by A.B. Nordiska Kompaniet, which, a few years later, sold it to the American Axel Beskow. In 1936 he donated the work to the Detroit museum.
The painting was not unanimously attributed to Parmigianino until 1991
The dating from around 1523 is based on comparison with early other works by the artist and by a preparatory drawing at the Cabinet des Dessins (inv. 6390) of the
Page at the museum's website
{{Parmigianino Paintings by Parmigianino Paintings in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts 1520s paintings
Mannerist
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...
artist Parmigianino
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, B ...
of the common subject of the circumcision of Jesus
The circumcision of Jesus is an event from the life of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, which states: And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise the child, his name was called Jesus, the name called by the angel before ...
, was made around 1523 and is now in the Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project comple ...
, Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, United States.
History
The Late Renaissance art biographerGiorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...
described a ''Circumcision of Jesus'' by Parmigianino. However, his description does not match the Detroit painting: he described a series of characters holding torches and walking which do not appear in this work.
The painting is known with certainty only starting from the 1830s, when it was part of the Russian imperial collection and was copied in an 1851 etching by J.W. Muxel. In 1917 it was acquired at Stockholm by A.B. Nordiska Kompaniet, which, a few years later, sold it to the American Axel Beskow. In 1936 he donated the work to the Detroit museum.
The painting was not unanimously attributed to Parmigianino until 1991
The dating from around 1523 is based on comparison with early other works by the artist and by a preparatory drawing at the Cabinet des Dessins (inv. 6390) of the Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
museum.
Description
The work shows thecircumcision of Jesus
The circumcision of Jesus is an event from the life of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, which states: And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise the child, his name was called Jesus, the name called by the angel before ...
as described in the Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
;Luke, 2, 22-32 the two sacrifice doves refer to the connected act of the purification of Mary. The young Jesus, well illuminated, is the child Jesus, surrounded by a crowd of characters. At the left is a very young Madonna, with blonde hair, similar to the ''Saint Barbara'' at the Museo del Prado. Also on the left, behind her, are two characters confabulating on a background with the rising sun.
At the right are two rows of figures, as well as the priest who holds Jesus on the altar and, in the other hand, the ritual knife. Below, between the offers, are two small rabbits, which resembles similar details in the arch of the first chapel frescoed by Parmigianino in the church of San Giovanni Evangelista at Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...
.
References
Sources
*External links
Page at the museum's website
{{Parmigianino Paintings by Parmigianino Paintings in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts 1520s paintings
Parmigianino
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, B ...