Old Masters · Matthew 2:18 · 5 October 2026 · 3 works

The Massacre of the Innocents

In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

For 28 December: the dark side of the Christmas story.

Herod stands on a balcony and gives the order with outstretched arm. Below, soldiers tear the children from their mothers. The dead already lie in a heap at the bottom of the picture.

Giotto, The Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1305 — **Giotto**, The Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1305

A Flemish village in deep snow. A troop of armoured horsemen has closed off the square; soldiers on foot kick in doors and drag people out. Peasants kneel and plead in front of the riders.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1565–67 — **Pieter Bruegel the Elder**, The Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1565–67

A knot of bodies before a row of columns. Soldiers, naked like ancient athletes, wrench children from their mothers; one swings a child high above his head. A woman claws at a soldier's face.

Peter Paul Rubens, The Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1611–12 — **Peter Paul Rubens**, The Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1611–12