ABEL GRIMMER (ANTWERP 1575 - 1619) The Massacre of the Innocents Oak panel, two boards, reinforced 40.5 x 59 cm On the back an armorial wax seal: "...CANDIDUS...". Abel Grimmer has reinterpreted a painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, The Massacre of the Innocents (circa 1565), held in the English Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. While retaining the essence of the composition, the arrangement of the figures and the landscape, our painter reduced the format by half and introduced a few variations, notably in the details of the tree branches. He also accentuated the chromatic contrasts, enriching the scene with brighter reds. Like Brueghel, Grimmer transposed the biblical scene to a picturesque Flemish village, with its thatched cottages under the snow and detailing several episodes in the massacre ordered by the King of Judea, Herod. This subject is generally interpreted as a denunciation of the pillaging that the Spanish army was carrying out in Flanders at the time, and of the repressive policies of the Habsburgs. The brutality of the scene contrasts with the immaculate whiteness of the snow, a symbol of the innocence associated with childhood. With his personal style, Abel Grimmer loved painting snow-covered landscapes, and enjoyed deploying large abstract white expanses contrasting with red brick walls, under the implacable winter light. Provenance : European private collection