Massacre of the Innocents (두살아래 사내아이를 다 죽이다)

 

 

 

(마 2:16)

이에 헤롯이 박사들에게 속은 줄 알고 심히 노하여 사람을 보내어 베들레헴과 그 모든 지경 안에 있는 사내아이를 박사들에게 자세히 알아본 그 때를 기준하여 두 살부터 그 아래로 다 죽이니

 

 

 

 

 

Pieter Bruegel the Elder ca. 1520 – 1569

Massacre of the Innocents

oil on canvas (111 × 160 cm) — 1566-1567

  Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Pieter Bruegel the Elder biography

 

This work is linked to Matthew 2:16

 

 

 

 

 

Pieter Bruegel the Elder ca. 1520 – 1569

Massacre of the Innocents - detail

oil on canvas — 1566 - 1567

  Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Pieter Bruegel the Elder biography

 

This work is linked to Matthew 2:16

 

Detail of this work. It is clear that the soldiers resemble the 16th century Spanish troops - familiar looks for Bruegel.

 

 

 

 

 

Domenico Ghirlandaio 1449 – 1494

Massacre of the Innocents

fresco — 1486-90

Santa Maria Novella, Florence

 

This work is linked to Matthew 2:16

 

Also known as Slaughter of the Innocents. The fresco is part of the series on the life of Mary in the Cappella Tornabuoni, a chapel in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. Domenico Ghirlandaio and members of his workshop decorated the chapel between 1486 and 1490. Ghirlandaio was commissioned by Giovanni Tornabuoni, a rich and powerful member of the city's elite.

On the vault (the ceiling) of the chapel the four Evangelists were depicted. The right wall was dedicated to the life of St John the Baptist, and the left wall shows scenes from the life of Mary. Ghirlandaio also designed the rear wall. The panels on that wall have been dispersed over several collections, but the stained glass windows are still present.

This fresco shows the slaughter king Herod ordered when the three wise men had refused to tell him the whereabouts of the newborn Jesus. Herod wished to have Jesus killed, as he considered him as a competitor. Not knowing where to find Jesus, Herod must have thought "well then, let's simply kill all infants in Bethlehem".

In the foreground is a tumultuous, dramatic scene with desperate mothers, violent soldiers and bloody limbs of children. The Roman arch in the back serves mainly to close the background, thereby limiting the space in the foreground. Vasari, the great biographer of Renaissance artists, celebrated this work most because of the variety in emotions in the faces.

 

 

 

 

 

Il Tintoretto 1518 – 1594

Massacre of the Innocents

oil on canvas (422 × 546 cm) — 1582-87

  Scuola di San Rocco, Venice

Il Tintoretto biography

 

This work is linked to Matthew 2:16

 

King Herod ordered to kill all infant boys in Bethlehem, as he had been told that one of them would become king of the Jews.

In this painting there is no escape from the slaughter. on one side there is a high wall, and the background shows that the massacre continues outside.

This large canvas is one in a series on the life of Mary and the youth of Jesus, all made by Tintoretto. This Annunciation is also part of the series.

 

 

 

Nicolas Poussin 1593/94 – 1665

Massacre of the Innocents

oil on canvas (97 × 131 cm) — 1626-1627

  Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville, Paris

Nicolas Poussin biography

 

This work is linked to Matthew 2:16

 

King Herod's men kill all small children in Bethlehem. They show no mercy, even when the women beg them to.

The spectator is drawn into the horrible scene by the woman in the center. She catches the eye by looking directly at us.

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Paul Rubens 1577 – 1640

Massacre of the Innocents

oil on panel (142 × 182 cm) — c. 1610

Art Gallery of ontario, Toronto

Peter Paul Rubens biography

 

This work is linked to Matthew 2:16

 

This painting by Rubens was erroneously attributed to one of his assistants in 1787. It wasn't until 2001 that an expert judged it to be a true Rubens.

It was sold at an auction in London in 2002 for £49.5 million (then US $86 million or 77 million euro). The buyer was revealed to be the Canadian newspaper baron Kenneth Thomson. Thomson donated the work (and many others) to the Art Gallery of ontario, in Toronto.

The work shows the massacre ordered by king Herod. He had been told by the Three Wise Men that a King of the Jews had been born, and decided to prevent him from becoming a rival. Mary, Joseph and their new born child were already on their way to Egypt.

Rubens was clearly influenced by Italian Baroque masters such as Caravaggio: rich color, dramatic movements, and the use of chiaroscuro.

 

 

 

 

Peter Paul Rubens 1577 – 1640

Massacre of the Innocents (Munich)

oil on panel (198 × 302 cm) — c. 1638

Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Peter Paul Rubens biography

 

This work is linked to Matthew 2:16

 

Rubens put the drama outside Herod's palace. Herod was the king who ordered the killing of all young male children in Bethlehem.

Three groups can be distinguished. In the center a woman draws the eye by holding a blood stained cloth over her head. Her face shows despair.

In the groups to the left and right women try to stop the soldiers - to no avail.

In an earlier version Rubens used only one group, making it a more intimate and therefore stronger depiction.