The Slaughter of the Innocents

The Slaughter of the Innocents

Title

The Slaughter of the Innocents

[Cat. Warsaw 2000, 56-59]

Painting on limewood

Medium

Painting on limewood

[Cat. Warsaw 2000, 56-59]

A scene of the massacre of the innocents with many figures is depicted in front of an elaborate renaissance architectural backdrop. The group consisting of soldiers and lamenting mothers is arranged circularly. The bodies of the murdered children lie in the centre. More children are torn from their mothers' arms

A scene of the massacre of the innocents with many figures is depicted in front of an elaborate renaissance architectural backdrop. The group consisting of soldiers and lamenting mothers is arranged circularly. The bodies of the murdered children lie in the centre. More children are torn from their mothers' arms by foot-soldiers and killed. King Herod and the court household watch the event from balconies. In the top left corner, beyond the architectural setting, the fleeing figures of the Virgin and Joseph with Jesus are visible.

[Görres, cda 2012]

Attributions
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Master of the Mass of St Gregory

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Wrocław 2017, no. 3] [Cat. Warsaw 2000, 56-59]

Master of the Mass of St Gregory

[Cat. Warsaw 2000, 56-59]

Production date
about 1515

Production date

about 1515

[Cat. Warsaw 2000, 56-59] [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 70A]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 122.5 x 85 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 122.5 x 85 cm

  • [Cat. Warsaw 2000, 56-59]

Signature / Dating

None

Inscriptions and Labels

Bottom: 'REVERENDVS VIR DOCTOR MARTINVS LVTHERVS NATVS ANO M.CCCC.LXXXIII.
IIII.ID. NOVEMB: HORA XI. ANTE MEDIAM NOCTEM IN OPPIDO CHERVUSCORVM …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

  • Bottom:

  • 'REVERENDVS VIR DOCTOR MARTINVS LVTHERVS NATVS ANO M.CCCC.LXXXIII.

  • IIII.ID. NOVEMB: HORA XI. ANTE MEDIAM NOCTEM IN OPPIDO CHERVUSCORVM ISLEBEA

  • IDEM MORTVVS EST ANO M.D.XLVI. XII CAL: MARTII. QVI FVIT DIES CONCORDIAE

  • IN PATRIA. ET SEPVLTVS EST WITEBERGAE IN TEMPLO ARCIS.'

  • [Görres, cda 2012]

Owner
Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie
Repository
Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie
Location
Warsaw
CDA ID
PL_MNW_MOb587
FR (1978) Nr.
FR070A
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PL_MNW_MOb587/

Provenance

  • collection of Tomasz Zielinski, Kielce until ca 1850
  • Regulski Collection, Warsaw
  • Puslowski Collection, Cracow
  • during WW II taken to Gerany by Nazi authorities
  • in the MNW since 1946
    [Cat. Warsaw 2000, 56-59]

Exhibitions

Warsaw 1961
Dresden 1971
Wrocław 2017, no. 3

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Wroclaw 2017 90-92 003 Fig. p. 91
EditorEwa Houszka, Marek Pierzchala
TitleModa na Cranacha, Muzeum Narodowe we Wroclawiu, 31.10.2017-30.12.2017
Place of PublicationWroclaw
Year of Publication2017
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005 287, 288 Fn. 15 014 (mentioned under) Fig. 131
EditorHarald Marx, Karin Kolb, Ingrid Mössinger
TitleCranach Anlässlich der Ausstellung Cranach vom 13. November 2005 bis 12. März 2006 in den Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz. Eine Ausstellung in Kooperation mit der Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
Cat. Warsaw 2000 56-59
AuthorBozena Steinborn, Antoni Ziemba
TitleMalarstwo Niemieckie Do 1600 Roku, Katalog Zbiorów. Deutsche Malerei bis 1600, Bestandskatalog
Place of PublicationWarsaw
Year of Publication2000
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 84 70A
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

According to Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 70A the painting in Warsaw is a 'replica', according to Koepplin, Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 540 it is 'an exact, artistically uninteresting copy' of the painting in Dresden (see related works).

[Görres, cda 2012]

  • The Slaughter of the Innocents, about 1515

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall

Technical studies

2000 - Technical Examination

Support

- six boards

[Cat. Warsaw 2000, 56-59]

Versions

The Massacre of the Innocents
  • The Massacre of the Innocents, about 1515
  • DE_SKD_GG1906C
  • Painting
  • Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Slaughter of the Innocents', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PL_MNW_MOb587/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Slaughter of the Innocents', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PL_MNW_MOb587/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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