Analyzing Peter Paul Rubens Massacre Of The Innocents

Analysis of “Massacre of the Innocents” Created in 1612 by Peter Paul Rubens, his painting, “Massacre of the Innocents,” illustrates the biblical Massacre of the Innocents of Bethlehem, as written about in the Gospel of Matthew. In historical context, the massacre in Bethlehem was ordered by King Herod, who ordered the killing of all young male children in Bethlehem. Rubens recreated the scene of the massacre outside Herod’s palace. It’s understood that in ancient times, as well as the present, commemorative art serves many purposes, such as to closely tie religion to ritual burials, or to promote political and social intentions. In the painting, “Massacre of the Innocents,” Ruben tugs at viewer’s heart both emotionally and visually, by create

The woman in the center is seen wearing a long, heavy-looking dress, while raising a blood-stained, white cloth above her head. She gazes up at the cloth, while her face shows that she is in a state of despair. The group to the left of this woman shows two soldiers with spears, murdering a young boy, that almost looks to be the size of a toddler. Beside them are a few women and a handful of young toddlers lying on the ground. The women that are surrounding the soldiers appear to be attempting to protect their young sons, but are failing. One of these women is on the ground, weeping and mourning, to the death of her young boy. The other two women are trying to save one of their sons from being stabbed in the heart by one of the soldiers, while the other soldier holds the boy out of reach from the women. The group of people to the right of the woman in the center, are acting very similar to the left group. In the right group, there are several more people featured, including six or seven soldiers, women, and young boys. In the top, left corner of the painting, there is a group of soldiers who appear to be looking for more toddlers to murder, while the women in this group try to stop them to protect the young