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Cosmè Tura - The Circumcision, about 1470-1479

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This circular oil painting on a wood panel depicts four adults attending the circumcision of a child. All of the adults have long expressive hands and gaze peacefully at the child. To our left is a light skinned female seated in a gracefully curved chair. She has blonde hair pulled into a bun and wears a blue cloak over a richly colored red gown. She gazes downward at the medium-light skinned child she holds in her lap. He has brown hair and his torso twists to our left, away from the medium-skinned male figure who appears to be performing the circumcision on him. This person crouches on one knee in front of the child and appears to be older, as his beard and hair are gray. He wears a long red robe with a rope tied around his waist and a black hood. To the left behind the seated female stands a medium-skinned male figure wearing a black top with a dark red collar. There is a bright red scarf draped over his shoulder and arm to our right, and he holds a clear rod in his raised arm to our right. The fourth adult figure is a standing light-skinned female figure to our right. She wears a long sleeve light pink dress with a gold scarf over her shoulder to our left. Her headdress covers her head and neck, and her hands are clasped in prayer position. There is a tablet sitting on an altar in the middle background. It is carved with the image of a kneeling figure with his arms raised to hold a tall slender crown on his head. The lunette shaped panel above depicts the head of a male figure gazing downward. A string of bright red beads is draped over the top of this tablet. The floor is a pale coral color and the walls are light gray with off-white trim.

Cosmè Tura (Ferrara, about 1430 - 1495, Ferrara)

The Circumcision, about 1470-1479

Oil on panel , 38.7 x 38.1 cm (15 1/4 x 15 in.)

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Commentary

Tura set the circumcision of the infant Jesus in a compressed space filled with overlapping figures and furniture. Seated on his mother’s lap, the child twists away from the mohel; Joseph and the prophetess Anna witness the scene. Notice the energy generated by the long, expressive hands of each figure and the sharp, agitated folds of their clothing. Cosmè Tura achieved a great reputation working for the rulers and wealthy families of Ferrara (his home town). This painting was part of a large altarpiece commissioned by the Roverella family. The painted coral beads draped over the top of the carved tablet in the background are echoed in a nearby case of real beads. As you explore the galleries, look for other examples of arrangements created by Gardner that invite unexpected visual connections between works of art.