Artwork
The Circumcision
The Circumcision is an ink print by the Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. It dates from 1504 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The image aligns with Northern European devotional traditions, where such scenes were used to foster contemplation of Christ’s humanity and impending Passion.
The subject depicted is the Circumcision of Jesus, an event narrated in the New Testament in which the infant Jesus is circumcised on the eighth day after his birth according to Jewish law. Dürer’s woodcut portrays the moment within a domestic interior, with the Christ Child held by his mother, the Virgin Mary, as Simeon performs the ritual. The composition emphasizes the sacred rite’s solemnity, underscoring its theological significance as the first shedding of Christ’s blood, prefiguring his future sacrifice.
The image aligns with Northern European devotional traditions, where such scenes were used to foster contemplation of Christ’s humanity and impending Passion. By rendering the event in a woodcut, Dürer made the subject accessible for private prayer and public dissemination, reinforcing its role in Christian iconography as a symbol of obedience, humility, and the Incarnation.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1504 in Nuremberg, this work is a woodcut print created on paper. As part of the Life of the Virgin series, the piece exemplifies German Renaissance religious art through its depiction of the circumcision of Jesus Christ. The composition measures 29.9 cm in height and 21.4 cm in width.
The medium relies on the relief printing technique characteristic of Dürer's graphic oeuvre, utilizing ink transferred from a carved wooden block to the paper support.
History & Provenance
The print titled The Circumcision was created by Albrecht Dürer in 1504 as part of his Life of the Virgin series. Executed as a woodcut on paper, it measures 29.9 cm by 21.4 cm and depicts the circumcision of Jesus Christ, a scene drawn from the New Testament. The work originates from Nuremberg and belongs to the German Renaissance movement.
It is held in several major collections including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Rosenwald Collection.
Albrecht Dürer's woodcut The Circumcision (1504) is held by multiple major institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Specific holdings are also documented at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where a version resides in the Rosenwald Collection, as well as at the Chester Beatty Library and the Michael C. Carlos Museum. The National Gallery of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art are explicitly listed as current locations for impressions of this print.
While the artwork is widely dispersed across these collections, the provided sources do not detail specific accession numbers or a chronological exhibition history for any of these holdings.
Context
The work belongs to the German Renaissance and depicts the circumcision of Jesus, a subject drawn from the New Testament. It is part of Dürer's Life of the Virgin series and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as well as the Cleveland Museum of Art. Scholarship situates it within the broader religious print tradition of the period and emphasizes its role within Dürer's exploration of Christ's early life. The piece measures 29.9 cm by 21.4 cm and was created in Nuremberg in 1504.
Overview
The Circumcision is a woodcut created by Albrecht Dürer around 1504, representing a scene from Christian tradition.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Albrecht Dürer spent his life in Nuremberg, a busy German city where artists traded prints like currency.
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![Lot and His Daughters [reverse], by Albrecht Dürer](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/albrecht-durer--lot-and-his-daughters-reverse--b4ebf9b282faa17a-w320.webp)
