Massacre of the Innocents
Medium
Woodcut (key block only)
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 9/16 x 20 7/8 in. (29.3 x 53 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1922
Accession Number
22.73.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the dramatic *Massacre of the Innocents a chiaroscuro woodcut ( block only) created around 1544 by the enigmatic Master ND, working in the style of the Renaissance giant Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael). This poignant print, measuring 11 9/16 x 20 7/8 inches, captures the biblical tragedy from the Gospel of Matthew, where Herod orders the slaughter of innocent children in a futile bid to eliminate the infant Jesus. The composition teems with anguish—men, women, and children locked in a frenzy of suffering—evoking profound empathy through its raw emotional intensity. As a woodcut fr...