The recent rediscovery of Rubens's Massacre of the Innocents offers an important opportunity to reassess the painter's early career. Of Rubens's works immediately following his return to Antwerp in 1608, it is the most assured, achieving a remarkable complexity both compositionally and emotionally. David Jaffe, senior curator at the National Gallery, London, considers the work in its context, discussing the numberous sources and influences - both visual and literary - from which Rubens drew. He also compares it to contemporory works by the artist, such as the London National Gallery's Samson and Delilah, and discusses it in relation to the latter's first owner, Nicolaas Rockox, the humanist and burgomaster of Antwerp and one of Rubens's most enthusiastic patrons.