Breughel, the Elder,  known for his bucolic scenes of 16th century Flemish life, drew his subject matter for this painting from the wars that had ravaged his own country in which the Spanish Catholic armies of the Hapsburg empire tried to crush Protestant resistance. The painting came to my mind when I heard of the Newton Massacre. Yes, the weapons and the circumstances and time are different, but the spirit of cruelty is captured. The Massacre of the Innocents is too contemporary for our own good.