"Una Baruffa Bellissima". The Massacre of the Innocents: An Ancient Tragedy in Modern Times

Abstract

"Una Baruffa Bellissima" ("A beautiful struggle") is Giorgio Vasari's definition of the splendid fresco of the Massacre of the Innocents by Ghirlandaio in the Tornabuoni Chapel in Santa Maria Novella in Florence which struck Aby Warburg greatly in the years of his elaboration of the concept of "Pathosformel all'antica". The Massacre of the Innocents, one of the most dramatic events in the history of humanity, has its roots in the ancient drama of Medea but has survived in the images and poetry of the 16th and 17th centuries. We find it in the works of Raphael, Poussin and Giovan Battista Marino, as well as reflected upon by Walter Benjamin in the "Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels", up to the tragic historical actuality of the modern age. This allows us to reflect on the role of images as condamnation and spectacle, ethics and aesthetics and ethos and pathos.