Massacre of the Innocents 1570 - 1630

Aegidius Sadeler II created this engraving, “Massacre of the Innocents,” sometime around the turn of the 17th century. The scene depicts infanticide under the reign of King Herod, as told in the Gospel of Matthew. Sadeler was a master of the Northern Mannerist style, known for its exaggeration and emotional intensity. He made this print after a work by Bartholomeus Spranger, and what we witness is a second-hand depiction of a biblical horror. Consider how the male bodies are idealized, their muscles flexed, while the female bodies are contorted and vulnerable. How might the original painter's gender have influenced his representation of violence against women? Ultimately, “Massacre of the Innocents” confronts us with the brutality of unchecked power, and asks us to consider whose stories get told and how. It reminds us that even in the face of historical horrors, there is a deeply personal dimension to loss and suffering.