Children of Bethlehem killed by Herod's orders (Massacre of the Innocents)

This Massacre of the Innocents panel forms part of the narrative cycle on the reverse of Duccio's Maestà altarpiece (1308–1311), which depicted the infancy and Passion of Christ across dozens of scenes. The subject of Herod's slaughter of Bethlehem's children allowed Duccio to demonstrate his remarkable gift for dramatic narrative, crowding the composition with grief-stricken mothers, soldiers, and fleeing figures. Now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena, it represents some of the most emotionally powerful storytelling in all of Gothic painting.

Egg tempera on gold-ground panel with Duccio's masterful crowd composition, arranging multiple overlapping figures in a shallow but convincing space. The emotional intensity is conveyed through expressive gestures and facial expressions rendered with delicate brushwork.