Jacopo and Francesco Da Ponte il Giovane
The Circumcision

1577
Oil on canvas
Museo Civico, Bassano del Grappa, Italy

The painting assimilates the circumcision of Jesus, with its shedding of blood, to the entire plan of salvation centered on the Cross and memorialized in the Eucharist. Above the scene is the heavenly light; below, the souls in Purgatory await salvation. In the center a pope and other representatives of the Christian faithful attend. The officiant's garb seems to be an imagined version of what a Jewish priest would wear.

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Photographed at the museum by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.