The Massacre of the Innocents 1520 - 1569

Jacob Binck’s tiny engraving, The Massacre of the Innocents, depicts infanticide, and was created in the first half of the 16th century. Binck lived through the Reformation, and he likely knew that the Bible was wielded to both oppress and liberate people. The story he depicts recounts King Herod’s attempt to kill the infant Jesus by ordering the death of all young children in Bethlehem. A naked soldier raises his sword, and the horror is palpable. Mothers clutch their children in vain, begging for mercy. Binck has pictured the male body as one of both power and violence. The women suffer, and the babies are completely vulnerable. The story of infanticide has a long history in art, often deployed to allegorize the brutality of power. Binck’s engraving reminds us of the painful history of violence against women and children and the trauma of losing a child.