The Massacre of the Innocents 

Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini rendered this ink drawing of "The Massacre of the Innocents," a biblical horror, sometime around the early 18th century. It captures a scene of infanticide ordered by King Herod in his attempt to kill the infant Jesus. The image is dominated by gestures of agony: mothers raising their hands to the heavens in despair, soldiers brandishing swords, and the limp bodies of babies. This motif of the mother protecting her child has ancient roots. Think of Isis nursing Horus, or even going back to the Paleolithic Venus figurines, symbols of fertility and life, now brutally inverted into images of death. The sword, too, is a recurring symbol, not just of death but of power, here wielded unjustly. The emotional intensity Pellegrini captures speaks to a collective memory of trauma and loss, engaging our subconscious fears. This primal scene of violence against the most vulnerable members of society continues to resonate, reappearing throughout art history, reminding us of the cyclical nature of violence and the enduring power of these archetypal symbols.