“The Massacre of the Innocents,” created by the artist Tintoretto between 1582 and 1587, is an oil painting on canvas measuring 422 x 546 cm. This religious painting, belonging to the Mannerism (Late Renaissance) art movement, vividly depicts a biblical scene with dramatic intensity.
The artwork captures the horrific event of the Massacre of the Innocents, as described in the Gospel of Matthew. It portrays a chaotic and violent scene wherein soldiers are ruthlessly slaying infants on the orders of King Herod. The composition is marked by tumultuous movement, with anguished mothers desperately trying to save their children, while the soldiers exert brute force. Tintoretto employs a dynamic use of light and shadow to heighten the drama, and the arrangement of figures is both intricate and convoluted, characteristic of Mannerist style. The expressions of terror and distress, the contorted postures, and the interplay of intense colors lend the painting a powerful emotional charge, emphasizing the tragedy and suffering of the depicted event.