Massacre of the Innocents (Rubens)

Painting by Peter Paul Rubens

The Massacre of the Innocents

The Massacre of the Innocents, between 1609 and 1611

Artist| Peter Paul Rubens
Year| 1610 (1610)
Medium| Oil on canvas
Movement| Flemish Baroque
Subject| Massacre of the Innocents
Dimensions| 142 cm × 183 cm × 1.9 cm (56 in × 72 in × 0.75 in)
Weight| 93.9 kilograms (207 lb)
Location| Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Accession| 2014/1581

The Massacre of the Innocents, 1638

Year| 1638 (1638)
Medium| Oil on panel
Dimensions| 198.5 cm × 302.2 cm (78.1 in × 119.0 in)
Location| Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Accession| 572 (Bavarian State Painting Collections)

The Massacre of the Innocents is the subject of two paintings by Peter Paul Rubens depicting the episode of the biblical Massacre of the Innocents of Bethlehem, as related in the Gospel of Matthew (2:13–18). The first, measuring 142 x 182 cm, was painted after his return to his native Antwerp in 1608, following eight years spent in Italy.[1]

## First painting

[edit]

The first version painted by Rubens dates from around 1611–12.[2][3] At the end of the seventeenth century, the painting became part of the Liechtenstein Collection in Vienna, Austria, along with another Rubens painting, Samson and Delilah. The Forchondt brothers sold both paintings to Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein whom they knew through his father Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein around 1700.[4] The paintings were given the Liechtenstein family seal and are recorded in the collection until the 19th century, where drawings in 1815 show they hung side by side in the Garden Palace in Vienna.[4]

After being catalogued by Vincenzio Fanti as a Franciscus de Neve (II) in 1767,[5] the Massacre was attributed in an anonymous inventory of the Liechtenstein Collection dated 1780 to one of Rubens' assistants, Jan van den Hoecke, after Rubens. The composition was already known from what is now seen as a copy by Rubens' workshop. This was bought in 1902 by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels as a work by Antoon Sallaert. Under that attribution it remained until it was sold to an Austrian family in 1920. It was subsequently loaned in 1923 to Stift Reichersberg, a monastery in northern Austria.

In 2001, the painting was seen by George Gordon, an expert in Flemish and Dutch paintings at Sotheby's in London. He was persuaded that it was indeed a Rubens by its similar characteristics and style to the Samson and Delilah painted around the same time. The work was sold at auction at Sotheby's, London on July 10, 2002, for £49.5 million (C$117 million)[6][7] to Canadian businessman and art collector Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet.

Following the auction the painting was loaned to the National Gallery, London for a period before its transfer in 2008 to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, to whom Thomson had donated it, and which was undergoing a major rebuilding and expansion during those years.[8]

### Later versions

[edit]

Towards the end of his life, between 1636 and 1638, Rubens painted a second version of the Massacre of the Innocents.[9] This version was acquired by the Alte Pinakothek, Munich by 1706, where it remains.[10]

A copy of this later version was made as an engraving in 1643 by Paulus Pontius.[11]

## Analysis

[edit]

It is widely regarded as a demonstration of the artist's learnings from his time spent in Italy between 1600 and 1608, where he observed first-hand the works of Italian Baroque painters like Caravaggio. These influences are seen in this painting through the sheer drama and emotive dynamism of the scene, as well as the rich colour. There is also evidence of the use of chiaroscuro. He also used écorché figures – anatomical statues with the skin[12] removed-to study how the body was made.

## Context

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At the time of Rubens' first painting on the subject Antwerp had been involved in warfare only a few years before – a conflict temporarily frozen by the truce of 1609. In one year alone over 8,000 citizens had been killed by Calvinists and Catholics alike as the Spanish forces ruling the Netherlands sought to repel Protestant armies. Massacres were a reality in Antwerp; 160 kilometres (100 mi) north of the city the Protestant rebel leader Prince Maurits commissioned Cornelis van Haarlem to paint the same scene for Haarlem's town hall,- propaganda intended to tell of Spanish atrocities against the Dutch people. Antwerp however remained a Catholic stronghold and became a leading centre of Counter Reformation thought.[13]

In August 2022, three members of Letzte Generation set up an action at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich : two activists glued themselves to the frame of a Rubens painting and one filmed the action. The demonstration resulted in 11,000 euros worth of damage (while the canvas was unharmed, the frame had suffered). In May 2023, they were sentenced to a fine of 2,400 euros each.

## See also

[edit]

* List of most expensive paintings

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Mark Irving, The Independent on Sunday, 11 January 2004
2. ^ Record in the RKD for Toronto version
3. ^ "17th century copy in the RKD for version in the collection of the KMSKA". www.rkd.nl.
4. ^ a b Press release on record breaking sale amount for Rubens Massacre of the Innocents
5. ^ Rubens Masterpiece Sells For $76.8 M in art daily.org
6. ^ CTV: Thomson family buyer of $117-million painting, July 13, 2002.
7. ^ "Rubens fetches record £49.5m". 11 July 2002 - via news.bbc.co.uk.
8. ^ "The Frum Family Donates Bernini Masterpiece to the AGO – AGO Art Matters". 11 January 2007.
9. ^ Later version in the RKD, record for the Pinakothek
10. ^ "Alte Pinakothek [Sammlung - Künstler]". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
11. ^ "Massacre of the Innocents". 11 August 2003. Archived from the original on 11 August 2003.
12. ^ "Chamber" dictionary
13. ^ The Independent on Sunday, 11 January 2004

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Massacre of the Innocents (Rubens) at Wikimedia Commons

* BBC News article on the auction
* ART "4" "2"-DAY article (see last quarter of page)

* v
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Peter Paul Rubens

Paintings
and drawings|

* The Descent from the Cross (Siegen; 1600–1602)
* Leda and the Swan (1601, 1602)
* The Deposition (1602)
* Self-Portrait in a Circle of Friends from Mantua (1602–1605)
* Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma (1603)
* Portrait of a Young Woman (1603)
* Hercules and Omphale (1603)
* Heraclitus and Democritus (1603)
* Virgin and Child (c. 1604)
* The Fall of Phaeton (c. 1604/1605)
* The Baptism of Christ (1604–1605)
* The Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Holy Trinity (1604–1605)
* Transfiguration (1604–1605)
* The Circumcision (1605)
* Portrait of Marchesa Brigida Spinola-Doria (1606)
* Portrait of Maria di Antonio Serra (1606)
* Portrait of a Noblewoman with an Attendant (1606)
* Portrait of Giovanni Carlo Doria on Horseback (1606)
* Saint Gregory with Saints (1606-07)
* Madonna della Vallicella (1606–1608)
* Susanna and the Elders (1607)
* The Head of Saint John the Baptist Presented to Salome (c. 1609)
* Adoration of the Magi (Madrid; 1609 and 1628–29)
* Samson and Delilah (1609–1610)
* Honeysuckle Bower (1609–1610)
* Coronation of the Virgin (1609–1611)
* Juno and Argus (1610)
* Raising of the Cross (1610–1611)
* Conversion of Saint Paul (London; 1610–1612)
* Massacre of the Innocents (c. 1611)
* Venus Frigida (1611)
* Prometheus Bound (1611–1612)
* The Four Philosophers (1611–1612)
* Antwerp Resurrection (1611–1612)
* Visitation (c. 1611–1615)
* Roman Charity (1612)
* Ecce Homo (1612)
* Descent from the Cross (Antwerp; 1612–1614)
* Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (Rotterdam; 1612–1614)
* Saint Teresa of Ávila's Vision of the Holy Spirit (Cambridge; c. 1614)
* The Tribute Money (1612–1614)
* The Defeat of Sennacherib (1612–1614)
* The Four Continents (1610s)
* Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter (1612–1614)
* Portrait of a Commander (1613)
* The Crowning of the Virtuous Hero (1613–1614)
* The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (1613–1615)
* The Death of Adonis (1614)
* Venus and Adonis (1614)
* St Sebastian (c. 1614)
* The Virgin Mary and Saint Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (c. 1614)
* Madonna della Cesta (1615)
* Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce (1615)
* Daniel in the Lions' Den (1615)
* Bacchanalia (c. 1615)
* A Statue of Ceres (c. 1615)
* The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–1616)
* The Tiger Hunt (1615–1616)
* Theodosius and Saint Ambrose (1615–1616)
* The Wild Boar Hunt (1615–1617)
* Florence Resurrection (1616)
* The Virgin and Child Surrounded by the Holy Innocents (1616)
* Erichthonius Discovered by the Daughters of Cecrops (c. 1616)
* The Wolf and Fox Hunt (c. 1616)
* The Lion and Leopard Hunt (c. 1616)
* Romulus and Remus (1615–1616)
* Miracles of St. Francis Xavier (1616–1617)
* Saint Stephen Triptych (1616–1617)
* Two Women with a Candle (1616–1617)
* Descent from the Cross (Lille; 1616–1617)
* The Meeting Between Abraham and Melchizedek (1616–1617)
* Christ and the Penitent Sinners (1617)
* Mars and Rhea Silvia (1617)
* The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (1617)
* The Great Last Judgement (1617)
* A Bearded Man (c. 1617–18)
* Adoration of the Magi (Lyon; 1617–1618)
* The Five Senses (1617–1618)
* Two Satyrs (1618)
* Medusa (1618)
* The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus (c. 1618)
* Christ Triumphant over Sin and Death (c. 1618)
* The Prodigal Son (1618)
* The Union of Earth and Water (c. 1618)
* Tigress with Her Cubs (attributed; 1618)
* Mucius Scaevola before Lars Porsenna (c. 1618–1620)
* Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee (1618–1620)
* The Wild Boar Hunt (1618–1620)
* St Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy (1619–1620)
* The Small Last Judgement (1619)
* Conversion of Saint Paul (1620s)
* The Fall of the Damned (c. 1620)
* Landscape with Philemon and Baucis (c. 1620)
* Portrait of a Young Man in Armor (c. 1620)
* Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1620)
* Perseus Freeing Andromeda (1620)
* Saints Dominic and Francis Saving the World from Christ's Anger (1620)
* The Rape of Orithyia by Boreas (1620)
* Christ on the Cross (1620)
* The Three Graces (Florence; 1620–1623)
* Isabella Brant (c. 1621)
* The Lion Hunt (1621)
* Marie de' Medici cycle (1621–1630)
* Portrait of Susanna Lunden (1622)
* Perseus and Andromeda (c. 1622)
* The History of Constantine (1622–1625)
* Self-Portrait (1623)
* The Conversion of Saint Bavo (1623–1624)
* Diana and Her Nymphs Leaving for the Hunt (1623–1624)
* Adoration of the Magi (Antwerp; 1624)
* The Reconciliation of Esau and Jacob (1624)
* Christ Appointing Saint Roch as Patron Saint of Plague Victims (1623–1626)
* Portrait of Infante Isabella Clara Eugenia (1625)
* Portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (c. 1625)
* Assumption of the Virgin (Antwerp; 1625–1626)
* Angelica and the Hermit (c. 1626–1628)
* Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry (1627)
* The Triumphal Entry of Henry IV into Paris (1627)
* The Annunciation (1627–1628)
* The Fall of Man (1628–1629)
* The Rape of Europa (1628–1629)
* Henry IV Seizing the Opportunity to Conclude Peace (c.1628)
* Minerva Protecting Peace from Mars (1629–1630)
* Cimon and Pero (1630)
* Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (c. 1630)
* Achilles Defeating Hector (c.1630)
* Thetis Receiving the Arms of Achilles from Vulcan (c.1630)
* The Crowning of Saint Catherine (1631)
* The Ildefonso Altarpiece (1630–1631)
* Last Supper (1630–1631)
* Odysseus on the Island of the Phaecians (1630–1635)
* The Finding of Erichthonius (1632–1634)
* The Rainbow Landscape (Saint Petersburg; 1632–1635)
* The Garden of Love (c. 1633)
* Adoration of the Magi (Cambridge; 1634)
* Bathsheba at the Fountain (c. 1635)
* The Dance of the Villagers (1635)
* Helena Fourment with Her Son Frans (1635)
* Venus and Adonis (New York; 1635)
* The Triumph of the Church (1635)
* The Feast of Venus (1635–1636)
* Deucalion and Pyrrha (1636–1637)
* The Feast of Herod (1635–1638)
* The Village Fête (1635–1638)
* Mercury and Argus (1635–1638)
* Hercules's Dog Discovers Purple Dye (c. 1636)
* Helena Fourment with Children (1636)
* A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning (1636)
* Saturn (1636)
* The Rainbow Landscape (London; 1636)
* Pallas and Arachne (1636–1637)
* Het Pelsken (1636–1638)
* Assumption of the Virgin (Vienna; c. 1637)
* The Birth of the Milky Way (c. 1637)
* Consequences of War (c. 1638)
* Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides / Deianira Listens to Fame (1638)
* The Three Graces (Madrid; 1636–1638)
* The Rape of Ganymede (1636–1638)
* Diana and Callisto (1637–1638)
* Helena Fourment with a Carriage (1638)
* Self-Portrait (Vienna; 1638–1639)
* Bacchus (1638–1640)
* The Rape of the Sabine Women (1639–1640)
* The Peasants Returning From The Fields (1640)
* The Rainbow Landscape (Munich; 1640)
* Judgment of Paris (various)

Tapestries|

* The History of Constantine (1622–1640) (with Pietro da Cortona)

Books|

* Palazzi di Genova (1622)

Museums|

* Rubenshuis

People|

* Rubens family
* Isabella Brant (first wife)
* Helena Fourment (second wife)
* Nicolaas Rubens, Lord of Rameyen (son)
* Albert Rubens (son)
* Jan Rubens (father)
* Maria Pypelinckx (mother)
* Philip Rubens (brother)
* Tobias Verhaecht (teacher)
* Adam van Noort (teacher)
* Otto van Veen (teacher)
* Nicolaas Rockox (friend)

Related|

* Poussinists and Rubenists
* Rubens (1977 film)
* Rubenesque
* Rubens' Europe (exhibition)

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