Kindermoord te Bethlehem (linkerdeel)

About this artwork

houtsnede, bewerkt met pen in grijs

Art Historical Context

Domenico Campagnola’s *Kindermoord te Bethlehem (linkerdeel)* captures the dramatic biblical episode known as the Massacre of the Innocents, in which King Herod orders the slaughter of male infants in Bethlehem. Created in 1517, this large sheet—measuring over half a meter in height—reflects the Renaissance fascination with emotionally charged religious narratives drawn from the New Testament. The work began as a woodcut, a popular reproductive medium that allowed artists to reach wide audiences, and was then carefully reworked by hand with grey pen. This hybrid technique highlights Campagnol...

About the Artist

Domenico Campagnola · 1500–1564

Domenico Campagnola (c. 1500–1564), a Venetian Renaissance painter, engraver, and pioneering draftsman, was born around 1500, likely in Venice to German parents, and became a child prodigy under the tutelage of his adoptive father, Giulio Campagnola. Apprenticed to Giulio around 1507 in Venice, he mastered painting, drawing, engraving, and woodcutting from the esteemed Paduan engraver, whose stipp...