Artwork
Kaisheimer Altar: Beschneidung Christi
Kaisheimer Altar: Beschneidung Christi is an unspecified painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Hans Holbein the Elder. It dates from 1502 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
History & Provenance
The panel depicting the Circumcision of Christ is held by the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is on view at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
The Beschneidung Christi (Circumcision of Christ) panel was commissioned in 1502 as part of the Kaisheim Altarpiece for the Kaisheim Abbey, a Cistercian monastery in Bavaria. Hans Holbein the Elder executed the work that same year, integrating it into the larger altarpiece structure.
After the dissolution of the monastery in the early 19th century, the panel entered the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections. It has since been housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, where it remains part of the museum’s holdings.
The panel depicting the Circumcision of Christ is held by the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is on view at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. It was created in 1502 by Hans Holbein the Elder as part of the Kaisheim Altarpiece.
No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history beyond its placement in the Alte Pinakothek collection is documented.
Overview
Created in 1502 by the German painter Hans Holbein the Elder, this panel portrays the biblical circumcision of the infant Jesus. Executed within the Northern Renaissance tradition, the work now resides in Munich’s Alte Pinakothek, where it is displayed as part of the museum’s early 16th‑century collection.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a newborn Christ surrounded by figures in contemporary dress, emphasizing the ritual’s theological importance. By presenting the event with solemn participants and a restrained setting, the painting underscores the covenantal significance of the circumcision within Christian liturgy.
Technique & Style
Holbein employs a meticulous naturalism, rendering cloth with intricate folds and faces with nuanced expression. A pronounced chiaroscuro model gives the scene depth, while the muted backdrop of a plain wall and modest columns focuses attention on the figures and their gestures.
Context
The painting reflects the early German Renaissance’s interest in combining devotional narrative with detailed observation of material culture. Holbein the Elder’s approach aligns with contemporaneous Northern artists who sought to render sacred scenes with a tangible, human presence, bridging liturgical function and visual realism.
Artist & collection
Artist
Hans Holbein the Elder (c. 1460/65 – 1524) was a German painter of the early German Renaissance. He was the father of painters Ambrosius and Hans the Younger.
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