The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

The Massacre of the Innocents (Without the Fir Tree)

The Massacre of the Innocents (Without the Fir Tree)

about 1511–12
(Italian, 1470/82–1527/34)

after Raphael

(Italian, 1483–1520)
Italy, 16th century
engraving
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1964.23
Catalogue raisonné: Delaborde 296.2 ; Passavant VI.12.9 ; Bartsch XIV.21.20
Location: not on view

Description

Raphael drew this composition to be engraved by Marcantonio Raimondi while working in the Vatican apartments adjacent to Michelangelo, who was then painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The emotive scene portrays a moment from the biblical Book of Matthew when King Herod, hearing of the birth of a savior, ordered the execution of all male children under two years of age. Known for the clarity and balance of his forms and compositions, the younger Raphael may have found inspiration for this composition in Michelangelo’s narrative intensity and active, twisting nude forms.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 39 no. 03, March Mentioned & reproduced: 2 archive.org
    Takahatake, Naoko, et al. The Chiaroscuro Woodcut in Renaissance Italy. Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art ; Munich ; New York : DelMonico Books/Prestel, 2018. Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 95-97, cat. 21.
  • Master/Apprentice: Imitation and Inspiration in the Renaissance. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 13, 2019-February 23, 2020).
    The Chiaroscuro Woodcut in Renaissance Italy. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (organizer) (June 3-September 16, 2018); National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (October 14, 2018-January 20, 2019).
    Gods and Heroes: Ancient Legends in Renaissance Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-December 31, 2017).
    Early Italian Engraving: 1460's - 1530's. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 25-October 27, 2002).
    Drawn to the Body: The Human Figure and the Graphic Arts, 1500-1900. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 14-May 23, 1999).
    Drawings: Discoveries in the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 7-October 28, 1990).
    Real Prints: Reproduction or Invention. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 7-May 17, 1987).
    The Lessons of the Academy. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 8-May 29, 1983).
    When Angels Bent Near the Earth to Touch Their Harps of Gold: The Christmas Story. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 1, 1981-January 17, 1982).
    Connoisseurship in Italian Figural Compositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 1980-February 15, 1981).
    The Print Club of Cleveland, 1919 - 1969: Fifty Years in Review. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 14-March 31, 1970).
    Old Master Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 29, 1966-February 28, 1967).
    Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965).
  • {{cite web|title=The Massacre of the Innocents (Without the Fir Tree)|url=false|author=Marcantonio Raimondi, Raphael|year=about 1511–12|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.23