Arkivism
The Massacre of the Innocents in Bethlehem
Public domain

The Massacre of the Innocents in Bethlehem

Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem · 1590 · canvas; oil paint (paint)

From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

When Herod, the King of Judea, learned that a child destined to become ‘King of the Jews’ would be born in Bethlehem, he ordered the slaughter of all boys under the age of two. The painter portrayed the massacre as a gruesome nightmare. Horror follows upon horror: at lower left a soldier slits a child’s throat, while above them a woman gouges out a soldier’s eyes.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description
Subjects
paintingbuttocks, 'partes posteriores'
Credit lineDe kindermoord in Bethlehem. 1590. Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
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