Focus on this artwork and discuss the Context.
At the time of Rubens' first painting on the subject Antwerp had been involved in warfare only a few years before – a conflict temporarily frozen by the truce of 1609. In one year alone over 8,000 citizens had been killed by Calvinists and Catholics alike as the  Spanish forces ruling the Netherlands sought to repel Protestant armies.  Massacres were a reality in Antwerp; 160 kilometres (100 mi) north of the city the Protestant rebel leader Prince Mauritz commissioned Cornelis van Haarlem to paint the same scene for Haarlem's town hall,- propaganda intended to tell of Spanish atrocities against the Dutch people.  Antwerp however remained a Catholic stronghold and became a leading centre of Counter Reformation thought.In August 2022, three members of Letzte Generation set up an action at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich : two activists glued themselves to the frame of a Rubens painting and one filmed the action. The demonstration resulted in 11,000 euros worth of damage (while the canvas was unharmed, the frame had suffered). In May 2023, they were sentenced to a fine of 2,400 euros each.
Haarlem Antwerp Antwerp had been involved in warfare Counter Reformation Rubens Letzte Generation Munich Cornelis van Haarlem Alte Pinakothek