Label Text:
A fragment of a domestic piece of furniture, most likely a cassone (or wedding chest), The Massacre of the Innocents depicts the biblical scene in which King Herod orders the murder of all male infants in Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the future “King of the Jews.” The dynamic composition derives from a print by the foremost Italian printmaker of the time, Marcantonio Raimondi, who developed it in Rome around 1510 in collaboration with the painter Raphael. The unidentified artist of this panel regrouped the print’s figures within a flatter plane and emulated the printmaking technique of crosshatching to suggest shadows. In this violent scene, dutiful soldiers reach with outstretched swords to seize the helpless babies from the arms of protecting, courageous mothers.
Written by Normandy Vincent, Class of 2008
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+1961.82 |
