Kindermoord te Betlehem

About this artwork

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Art Historical Context

Nicolas Beatrizet’s engraving *Kindermoord te Betlehem* captures the dramatic biblical episode known as the Massacre of the Innocents. Created during the artist’s working life in the mid-sixteenth century, the large print (roughly 41 by 58 centimeters) presents a crowded scene of soldiers carrying out King Herod’s cruel order. Beatrizet, a French engraver active in Rome, used the medium’s fine lines and tonal contrasts to convey both the chaos of the event and the anguish of the mothers. Engraving was a vital reproductive technique in the Renaissance, allowing religious stories to reach audie...