Rijksmuseum

De kindermoord te Bethlehem

Date

1511 - 1512

Medium

paper

Culture

Italy

Institution

Rijksmuseum

The mother running desperately towards us holding her child is the focus of this finely balanced composition. Other women and children are arranged around her, trying to escape from the naked soldiers. The tiled floor and the bodies of dead children create a spatial effect. Raphael prepared for this elegant, though gruesome ballet with numerous sketches, and engaged the expert engraver Marcantonio Raimondi to execute the design.

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