The picture was probably completed in 1491 as the altarpiece for the Chapel of the Circumcision belonging to the Confraternity of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in the Church of San Francesco, Volterra. The Virgin, Saint Joseph (with a staff) and Saint Simeon are distinguished by haloes. Simeon is depicted raising his hands in which he has just held Christ and thanking God for letting him see the Redeemer. The Naming of Jesus, his Presentation and Circumcision occur together in the Gospel of Saint Luke (2: 21-36) - hence the choice of this subject by the Confraternity.

The circular reliefs in the spandrels of the arch represent a prophet and a sibyl who foretold Christ's coming. Vasari mentions that the painting was damaged by damp and that the Child was repainted by Sodoma. The explicit representation of the circumcision may have also been the real reason for Sodoma's revision.