The Massacre of the Innocents, ca. 1480 – 1490

About the Work

The bible describes how when Christ came into the world, Herod heard that a future “king” had been born in Bethlehem. Fearing a challenge to his power, he ordered all newborn babies there killed. The engraving shows him leaning on a wall, holding a sceptre in his right hand and issuing the cruel command with his left. This is an indication that the engraver copied a composition that appears in mirror image in his print.