Today's Gospel in Art - The Massacre of the Innocents

Massacre of the Innocents by Léon Cogniet 1824 © : Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rennes

Gospel of 28th December 2020 - Matthew 2:13-18

After the wise men had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.' So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:

I called my son out of Egypt.

Herod was furious when he realised that he had been outwitted by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or under, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men. It was then that the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled:

A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loudly lamenting: it was Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they were no more.

Reflection on the Painting

Because of the dramatic storyline, the massacre of the innocents has been a popular story to depict throughout art history. I do think today's painting is a powerful work of art, and probably my favourite painting depicting the massacre. Most artists who depict this story render a very broad scene with many figures: people fleeing in horror, women screaming in lamentation, Roman soldiers mercilessly killing the new-born babies and children. Last year we looked at such a painting by Rubens (read more). But rather than render a wide-angle view, Cogniet paints an extremely intimate picture here. We see a terrified mother holding on to her child, afraid her baby would get killed too. In the distance we see figures fleeing in panic. Her bare head and bare feet make her look even more vulnerable. The muted colours of the overall painting and the setting amongst ruins make this quite a solemn and meditative painting.

The woman in our painting is literally cornered. There seems to be no escape. This corner is quite symbolic. We may not be able to change the world, but we can all work hard to make our 'little corner of the world' a more loving place to be. Many people feel cornered in life through financial circumstances, work situations, family losses... all contributing to people feeling trapped. We may not be able to change their world, but we can strive to make their 'little corner of the world' a more joyful place to be… And that is exactly what the Christmas spirit is about…

LINKS

Today's story: https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/650

Christian Art - www.christian.art/index.php