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The Massacre of the Innocents with Herod

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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This panel and The Massacre of the Innocents once formed a single image, with this scene on the right. It was cut into two before entering the National Gallery’s collection. The bearded man wearing a crown is King Herod – he is overseeing the massacre of infants that he had ordered in an attempt to kill the newborn Christ. Herod regarded Christ as a threat to his rule because he was being called ‘the king of the Jews’. Several of these figures, including the Roman soldier gesturing toward the violence at the centre of the scene, are directly copied from The killing of the Sow (British Museum, London), an engraving by Mocetto set in ancient Rome and seeming to show a pagan ritual. The architectural setting imitates the style and materials of ancient Greek and Roman buildings.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Massacre of the Innocents with Herod

Date

about 1500-25

Medium

Oil on canvas, presumably transferred from wood

Measurements

H 67.9 x W 44.5 cm

Accession number

NG1239

Acquisition method

Bought, 1888

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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