Full title | The Massacre of the Innocents with Herod |
---|---|
Artist | Gerolamo Mocetto |
Artist dates | about 1458 - 1531 |
Series | The Massacre of the Innocents |
Date made | about 1500-25 |
Medium and support | Oil on canvas, presumably transferred from wood |
Dimensions | 67.9 x 44.5 cm |
Inscription summary | Signed |
Acquisition credit | Bought, 1888 |
Inventory number | NG1239 |
Location | Not on display |
Collection | Main Collection |
This panel and The Massacre of the Innocents once formed a single image, with this scene on the right. It was cut into two before entering the National Gallery’s collection. The bearded man wearing a crown is King Herod – he is overseeing the massacre of infants that he had ordered in an attempt to kill the newborn Christ. Herod regarded Christ as a threat to his rule because he was being called ‘the king of the Jews’.
Several of these figures, including the Roman soldier gesturing toward the violence at the centre of the scene, are directly copied from The killing of the Sow (British Museum, London), an engraving by Mocetto set in ancient Rome and seeming to show a pagan ritual. The architectural setting imitates the style and materials of ancient Greek and Roman buildings. This interest in antiquity reflects that of Mocetto’s predecessor Mantegna, who was also working in the Veneto.
This panel is one half of a composition that was cut into two fragments before entering our collection. The bearded man wearing a crown is King Herod – he is overseeing the massacre of infants that he had ordered in an attempt to kill the newborn Christ. Herod regarded Christ as a threat to his rule because he was being called ‘the king of the Jews’.
The open structure in which Herod is seated is made of elements of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. It is a Renaissance version of an ancient temple, its walls lined with coloured marble, which is probably intended to represent Herod’s palace. This interest in antiquity reflects that of Mocetto’s predecessor Mantegna, who was also working in the Veneto. Herod is commanding his soldiers to kill the infants. The soldiers are dressed in Roman-style armour sculpted to match their athletic bodies. Herod is surrounded by a crowd of men and women; a man wearing a helmet wraps his arms around a woman holding a baby to protect them. The child’s fate is inevitable: in the foreground, a soldier plunges a dagger into a naked infant’s skull.
Several of these figures, including the soldier who gestures towards the violence at the centre of the scene, are directly copied from The killing of the Sow (British Museum, London), an engraving by Mocetto which is set in ancient Rome and seems to show a pagan ritual. The two women, one of whom has her hand on the other’s shoulder, wear loosely draped clothing and stand in the centre of the crowd. They also come from the engraving, where they watch the killing of the pig. Their placid expressions make more sense in the context of a religious ritual, whereas here, as witnesses to the slaughter of children, their indifference seems unusual. This may explain why, despite the drama of the scene, Mocetto’s figures do not show strong emotions through facial expressions or gestures.
Download a low-resolution copy of this image for personal use.
License and download a high-resolution image for reproductions up to A3 size from the National Gallery Picture Library.
License imageThis image is licensed for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons agreement.
Examples of non-commercial use are:
- Research, private study, or for internal circulation within an educational organisation (such as a school, college or university)
- Non-profit publications, personal websites, blogs, and social media
The image file is 800 pixels on the longest side.
As a charity, we depend upon the generosity of individuals to ensure the collection continues to engage and inspire. Help keep us free by making a donation today.
You must agree to the Creative Commons terms and conditions to download this image.
The Massacre of the Innocents with Herod
The Massacre of the Innocents
When Herod, King of Judea, found out about the birth of Jesus, who was being called ‘the king of the Jews’, he ordered the killing of all children under the age of two, an event known as the ‘massacre of the innocents’ (Matthew 2: 16).
These two pictures once formed a continuous image, but it was cut up before entering the National Gallery’s collection. The picture showing Herod overseeing the slaughter was originally to the right. The architecture – for example, the balustrade – continues from one scene to the next but the alignment is not seamless, suggesting that both paintings were cut down at the inside edge.
Paintings by Mocetto are quite rare; he is better known as an engraver. He has placed his signature on the pedestal supporting the column of Herod’s palace: HEROL/EMO / MOCETO / P.[INXIT] (‘Gerolamo Mocetto painted this’).
When Herod, King of Judea, found out about the birth of Jesus, who was being called ‘the king of the Jews’, he ordered the killing of all children under the age of two, an event known as the ‘massacre of the innocents’ (Matthew 2:16).
These two pictures once formed a continuous image, but it was cut up before entering our collection. The painting showing Herod overseeing the slaughter was originally to the right of The Massacre of the Innocents. The architecture – for example, the balustrade – continues from one scene to the next but the alignment is not seamless, suggesting that both paintings were cut down at the inside edge.
Paintings by Mocetto are quite rare; he is better known as an engraver. When the pictures were purchased by the National Gallery in 1888, they were considered particularly worthwhile because they are signed on the pedestal that supports the column of Herod’s palace: HEROL/EMO / MOCETO / P.[INXIT] (‘Gerolamo Mocetto painted this’). The Gallery’s director, who made the purchases, valued them because Mocetto was working in the Veneto at around the same time as Giovanni Bellini, the most famous Venetian painter of the Early Renaissance. The panels however show a very close affinity to the work of Bellini’s friend and rival, Mantegna; Mocetto even copied certain figures from Mantegna’s engravings.
In the eighteenth century, the pictures belonged to the British consul at Venice, John Strange. They were also included in a well-known eighteenth-century book on art history by Seroux d'Agincourt, a French art historian.


More paintings by Gerolamo Mocetto
