Massacre of the Innocents

Peter Paul Rubens

c. 1611–1612 · Oil on panel · Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Massacre of the Innocents

Het Pelsken (Helena Fourment in a Fur Robe)

Samson and Delilah

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

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About this work

Artist: Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640)
Year: c. 1611–1612
Medium: Oil on panel
Original size: 142 × 182 cm
Collection: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Movement: Baroque

Herod's soldiers tear infants from their mothers in a courtyard, the women fighting back with nails and teeth, in the episode from the Gospel of Matthew that Rubens painted on a panel around 1611 to 1612, soon after returning to Antwerp from eight years in Italy. It is the first of his two versions; the later one, from the 1630s, is in Munich. The picture entered the Liechtenstein collection in Vienna around 1700 alongside Samson and Delilah, was reattributed to an assistant in 1780 and forgotten, and spent decades on loan to an Austrian monastery under the name of another painter. In 2001 a Sotheby's specialist recognised Rubens's hand, and in July 2002 it sold in London for 49.5 million pounds to Kenneth Thomson, then the highest price ever paid for an Old Master. Thomson gave it to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, where it has hung since 2008.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; 12×18 and 16×24 and 24×36 also available framed in black or natural wood • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Produced in 2–4 business days, then shipped from the facility nearest you. Delivery is typically 3–6 business days (US/UK/EU) and 5–12 worldwide. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is Massacre of the Innocents in the public domain?

Yes. Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Art Gallery of Ontario.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; the two larger sizes are also offered framed. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Massacre of the Innocents painted, and in what medium?

Massacre of the Innocents dates from c. 1611–1612 and was made in oil on panel; the original measures 142 × 182 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

For a standard three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 inches reads as a single statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pairing. The print's proportions follow the original, so a landscape-format painting is wider than it is tall.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Peter Paul Rubens's Massacre of the Innocents — Massacre of the Innocents — mothers fighting Herod's soldiers for their children before a classical palace — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. The Flemish Baroque, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Three sizes (12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in); the 16×24 and 24×36 are also offered framed. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

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The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in ~4–8 business days.

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