The 'Innocents' in the work practically come to life on the wall and the light seems to radiate from within the oak panel on which it is painted. Although the subject matter is grotesque, violent and horrific the technical beauty amazes.
The massacre the title of the work refers to is King Herod's ordered killing of the male babies as reported in the Book of Matthew in The Bible. The Bethlehem infanticide was intended to prevent Herod's dethroning at the hands of the 'newborn King' Jesus of Nazareth. What you have here is a painting of men killing little baby boys by hurtling them to the ground!
There is one baby in particular that jumped out at me. He is lying on his back, his head tilted back. His face blue. Check the area in the bottom right corner of the painting. I warned you it was grotesque!
The painting was purchased by Ken Thomson at Sotheby's in London in July of 2002 for about 49.5 million pounds. (That's about 70 million CDN/USD or over 3 billion Rupees!). It should be noted that in today's money that 70 million is about 92 million! It had been estimated to be worth a paltry 5 million pounds according to The Art Wolf.
In my opinion this work of art is a hidden treasure in Toronto and worth checking out now while it is very accessible and uncrowded. General admission to the gallery is 18.00 for adults. Visit the website for info. The gallery is located on Dundas street in downtown Toronto. [ View Map ].
And now, without further ado... I present 'The Massacre of the Innocents'...
Click the image to view full size.
(Flemish, 1577–1640)The Massacre of the Innocents circa 1611–1612
oil on oak panel The Thomson Collection © Art Gallery of Ontario
Wikipedia on The Massacre of the Innocents
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