THE RELIEF OF THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST

Judging from its somewhat modest dimensions, this relief depicting the Circumcision of Christ might well have formed part of the predella of an altarpiece dedicated to the Passion of Christ that perhaps came from Antwerp where artisans frequently included this particular episode as a premonition of the suffering which Our Saviour was to undergo in the future.

The scene is distributed around a tiny altar placed against a poligonally shaped column upon which the figure of Christ is delicately sustained by the Holy Virgin by His arms. Mary is located to the left, leaning elegantly forward. She is wearing a long, sumptuous tunic with a low-cut, straight neckline complemented by a wide-sleeved blouse from which long strands of cloth hang and a beautiful headdress held in place by buns of hair, typical of the way people used to dress during the first decades of the XVI century. In front of her, a priest dressed in loose robes and wearing a wide mitre also leans forward in preparation for the delicate operation he is about to perform