Grabbed 20 minutes in the National Gallery on the way home last week. I had never visited before, and found it a most enjoyable way to pass the time. The Carravagios were my favourite.
I was detained by this painting by Rubens 'Massacre of the Innocents'. It depicts the soldiers of Herod killing all the baby boys following Herod's decree. It is disturbing in the extreme. Would a a photo portraying this event be permitted to be shown? I doubt it. Rightly so - but would it remind us that even those who appear civilized are guilty of terrible atrocities?
It seems that many of the images in the media place evil as the actions of the uneducated deprived - the knives and guns of the hoodies, and thereby keep us safe from feeling responsible - remote observers. This painting somehow seems to remind me that evil is part of humanity's DNA.
