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When he was a week old the infant Christ was taken to the Temple, circumcised and given the name Jesus (Luke II, 21). Mosaic Law required the operation as a token of the Covenant. Here, Mary and Joseph are seen kneeling on the left, while the operation is performed on a platform in the centre. The empty chair on the right is the Chair of Elijah, on which the child would have been placed immediately before the ceremony, and the flame used to heat the knife can be seen dimly in the right background. Dietrich painted several synagogue scenes, including two versions of the Presentation in the Temple dated 1739 and 1740 (Dresden, Gemäldegalerie).

The Wallace Collection

London

Title

The Circumcision

Date

c.1739–1774

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 44.7 x W 63.2 cm

Accession number

P153

Acquisition method

acquired by Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, 1843; bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace, 1897

Work type

Painting

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The Wallace Collection

Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, Greater London W1U 3BN England

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