Massacre of the Innocents

In an attempt to thwart the prophecy about Christ's rise to power, King Herod orders his soldiers to kill all the male infants under the age of two living in Bethlehem. They do this with ruthless efficiency. Bartolo's color scheme uses naturalistic details to enhance the drama of the scene. Note the contrast between the rosy coloring of the infants who are still alive and the green pallor of those already dead. This painting, which is beautifully preserved, was part of a monumental altarpiece commissioned for the Church of San Agostino in San Gimignano and was placed atop a large painting of the Presentation in the Temple now in the Museé du Louvre, Paris. The Massacre of the Innocents might have been executed by both Bartolo and Andrea (active 1389-1428), working collaboratively as a father and son team.

Inscription

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Church of Sant'Agostino, San Gimignano; Malenotti Collection, San Gimignano [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Cardinal Feschi Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Viscount Bernard d'Hendecourt Collection, Paris, prior to 1914 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Demotte, Paris, 1917 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1917, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.