Massacre of the Innocents

Artist Jacques Callot (French, 1592–1635)

Date1622

MediumEtching on laid paper

DimensionsImage: 5 3/8 x 4 1/8 inches (13.7 x 10.5 cm);
Sheet: 5 9/16 x 4 5/16 inches (14.1 x 10.9 cm)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineBequest of George H. Sabine

Terms

French
Etching
Death
Infanticide
Massacre of the Innocents
Mother and child
Murder
New Testament
Soldiers
Squares (Open spaces)
Swords
Urban views
Weapons
laid

Object number61.138

Label CopyCallot made two nearly identical plates of this etching, one at the end of his time in Florence, and another as he was returning to France, presumably to correct wear on the first plate. The setting is an invented Roman Baroque style, reflecting his studies in Italy, and the buildings loom large in the foreground. The broad street and gesticulating figures create a dramatic, theatrical scene, which is augmented by the oval outline of the image. The figures are arranged on several planes of action that recede into the distance and terminate in an idyllic hillside scene, suggestive of The Flight into Egypt, which is often shown in conjunction with Massacre of the Innocents. This use of perspective allows Callot to fit quite a bit of activity rather cohesively into a small space, a formula that he applies to his later works as well.

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