Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Genesis 4:1-7 (NKJV)
Two Brothers, Two Paths: A Reflection Before the Art
Cain and Abel, the story of the first murder has always captured my mind whenever I hear of it. How is it that in one generation we went from committing the most unforgivable sin and as each generation comes we add to the story of sin- in this case, Cain committing murder. God favored Abel’s offerings more than that of Cain’s and Cain chose to respond by comparing himself to Abel and get very angry and take his anger out at his brother.
In most artwork of Cain and Abel, the story is painted on different mediums using contrast, comparing Cain and Abel against each other, showing Abel in good light, and Cain shrouded in darkness. How it relates to me is it leads me to think which path I’d like to take? Most of us can relate to Cain, a person who was raised equally as Abel yet chose to farm land while Abel tended to livestock as a shepherd.
Abel’s occupation foreshadows that of Jesus Christ while that of Cain reflects the words of God’s we read earlier of the curse of man who would toil the land forevermore for survival. Did not Cain follow suit with the curse, or did Cain choose to further dig a hole of sin for half of mankind? Consider the problem of theological determinism in this story. Could Cain truly have had free will if God knew that he was to kill Abel?
1. Unknown Artist — Salerno Ivory Plaque: Carved Into Judgment
At first glance, the story of Cain and Abel being carved into ivory is almost impossible to imagine how it could have been created. On the right, a God figure is encircled by an intricately patterned circle that would have required careful carving hands to accomplish. On the left half of the ivory plaque, it’s easy to tell the brothers are lifting their offerings up to the heavens, to God, and a hand stretches from above toward the lamb offering of Abel’s we can presume due to the biblical story.
On the right Cain’s arm is wrapped around Abel’s throat who is held to the ground with the weight of Cain’s leg-written on Abel’s face, the face of impending death, in a moment he would become the first murderer. The end of the story is carved at the end of the plaque, with God reaching out to Cain rebuking him, cursing him and the direct look towards Cain sparks fear which can be seen in Cain’s posture.
2. Unknown Artist — Monreale Cathedral Mosaics: Two Brothers, One Verdict
The Monreale Cathedral Mosaics reside in Palermo, Italy and this mosaic in particular is 1 of 130 other mosaics in the cathedral. The mosaic was made of many individual tiles in which the unknown artists decided to depict the moment God preferred the offering of Abel over Cain. Both figures look up to heaven wearing similar attire, and clothing which allows the audience to infer these two male figures come from similar backgrounds.
The brothers have similar faces with the same expression as this is the moment before Cain reacts toward God’s choice. In the hands of Cain he offers up an offering of the fruit of the ground he tilled. Abel offers a lamb who has a beam of light shone on from above, providing the viewer with confirmation that God respected this offering over that of Cain’s. One thing to note is although the cathedral is in Spain, the text laid into the mosaic is in Greek, “captioning” Cain and Abel’s names.
3. Jacopo Della Quercia — Cain and Abel: Guessing Which Brother Is Which
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This may look like ivory at first glance but this piece is carved stone, Istrian stone, to be exact, residing in San Petronio, Bologna. Unlike the first 2 examples, here you can see the two brothers in front of offerings engulfed in flames. But can you truly tell which brother is who? I’ll admit that the only clue I could gather would be in the faces and postures of the brothers. In scripture it reads that Cain’s countenance fell and so his facial expression would provide the hint we need. I deem the figure on the left to be Abel as he’s standing which is not a posture you would be in the face of God, and I would assume in anger he’d stand once God chose his brother’s offering over his.
Abel, still prostrate, face and eyes looking up to heaven showing gratitude unlike the figure of Cain, with a deeper look, his face shows disdain for Abel. Lastly, the feet of Cain have almost a leather-like footwear that would be beneficial to someone who tilled earth, which leads me to lean toward my guess that on the left Cain stands with his back toward His Creator and to the right (the right hand of God), Abel in reverence to the Holy God, expresses gratitude.
4. Jacopo Tintoretto — The Murder of Abel: Shadow and Light at the Final Blow
Tintoretto is known to use expressive brush strokes and make odd perspective choices in his oil pieces. In the Murder of Abel, not only does Tintoretto display his well-known style in the painting of the Cain and Abel story but he also provides purposeful details that ensure the audience makes no mistake when interpreting this masterpiece that these figures are indeed the two brothers in the midst of a fight to the death.
Abel caught on the ground, cast in light, provides the contrast needed to show that this figure indeed is Abel. Above Abel is Cain, with sharp stone in hand, and the other hand grasping the neck of his brother tightly- the shadows painted over Cain’s body show the strength and anger of Cain in his muscles all contracted to deliver the final blow. Abel’s muscles are less tense and almost in disbelief that his own brother would be angry at him. The beheaded lamb provides a glimpse into Abel’s future, soon to be bloodied, both to meet the same fate.
5. Peter Paul Rubens — Cain Slaying Abel: The Baroque Moment of No Return
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Rubens paints in the Baroque style which may resemble that of Tintoretto’s Italian Renaissance but the key differences between the styles are that Baroque is more dramatic, emotional, and intense to include the lighting is more extreme and the choice in action captured is usually the exact event unlike Italian Renaissance which artists at the time typically display the moments right before or after the action of the story they tend to tell. Here this moment’s intensity between Cain and Abel is captured in the detailed face of Abel who is clearly in pain, disbelief that his own brother chose to end his life. Here Abel on the ground reaches out to his brother in a final plead for his life, knowing all too well that Cain has made up his mind.
Cain’s face, in full shadow, is covered in evil, it’s as if his soul is no longer behind his eyes or action. Unlike Abel’s hand, outstretched to the heavens, and the other helping Abel regain his balance, the one hand of Cain holds the stone that will end Abel’s life and the other grasps Abel’s head down to position it for the blow. In view of this piece I clench my teeth knowing that I am witnessing the final moments of Abel and am unable to do anything about it. To add, the smoke of the offering provides an inkling of God’s presence as the wind blows up toward the heavens.
6. Simon Troger — Cain Kills Abel: Ivory, Wood, and a $30,000 Sculptor
Simon Troger is not a sculptor I am familiar with yet his sculptures are auctioned starting well over $30,000. Cain Kills Abel is carved of wood and ivory likely commissioned by the Munich court of the Electorate of Bavaria to be passed off as gifts. Troger’s pieces were never really large like that of Rodin, usually under a meter in length but were more ornate sometimes using glass for eyes and wood for decorative purposes. Here the contrast of the ivory and wood helps guide the viewer. In the foreground lies the lamb Abel sacrificed, a common theme when portraying the story of Cain and Abel.
When I look at scripture, the story itself is short and sweet, as Cain and Abel remain mostly in Genesis 4, and so most artists have not much to work with when portraying Cain or Abel. The lamb, and the offering of fruit of Cain’s land are typically shown in works of this story, likewise here we see the fruit of Cain in rear of the sculpture. In looking at the full piece, Troger displays the struggle between brothers where we see Abel try to gain his equilibrium and lift himself up yet Cain overpowers him and stands above him ready to murder him.
What I found interesting about this sculpture is that the clothing and ‘battleground are in wood’ while the figures, offerings and their altars are kept in ivory as those are the most important figures of the story. This sculpture lacks God or any inclination of Him which leads me to think that this is well-after the offering took place.
7. James Tissot — Cain Leadeth Abel to Death: A Painter’s Return to Faith
Tissot was a French artist who near the end of his life returned to his Catholic faith after experiencing a vision at Church of St. Sulpice. Tissot began to create works of biblical events and Cain Ledeth Abel to Death is one of a few Old Testament stories he painted. What stands out about the gouache painting is how green and light most of it is. The two brothers look dissimilar, one has a more scruffy look with an orange head of hair- clearly is Cain as he wields a club in his right hand and drags Abel with his left hand.
Abel has an innocence to him in which he looks up, almost in a daze- his body is slimmer and less muscular than Cain’s and we know shortly he will be overpowered and murdered. His white animal skins, seem to be of sheep referencing his offering in the same way that Cain’s clothing is dark almost grass-like which reminds me of the fruit he offered God.
8. John Reilly — Cain and Abel: Light and Shadow in Modern Color
In finding John Reilly’s Cain and Abel painting I learned that the Methodist Church has an online art collection with valuable information of each piece. The Collections shares information of the work itself, the artist, what Bible story inspired the piece and also where the piece is exhibited. Reilly’s oil on canvas painting is a colorful depiction of the Cain and Abel story. Here Reilly uses shape, color and lines to lead the eye around the canvas. To the left Abel stands amongst his sheep, slender and proudly looking toward the heavens. Surrounding him are shapes and lines that transition from the grass colored green up to the blues that form the mountains and sky where the rest of his herd is. Abel’s vocation is that of a shepherd that takes up most of the canvas.
Cain is crouched, digging up his land, almost appearing as an ogre shaped figure unlike the slender shape of Abel. Cain’s land is fenced and takes up a smaller area on the canvas. The land is divided up with different plants and flowers, most alive but some are found dead and decaying. Here you can sense that Cain is not truly happy with Abel as his harvest is declined by God and Abel’s sheep are highlighted by a glow of light that represents God’s acceptance of Abel’s offering.
9. Damien Hirst — Cain and Abel Installation: When Contemporary Art Skips Reverence
Notable contemporary art rarely does biblical stories justice as the same to be estranged representations of the bible. I typically find it hard to find the reverence for God or Christ in modern works and in Damien Hirst’s ‘Cain and Abel’ Installation, I have to keep in mind that this piece is part of a large exhibition called Meat the Future that was at the Oxford University of Natural History in the United Kingdom.
I will not speak much of the exhibition itself except that the goal was to present research on the environmental and health impacts of eating meat. Hirst chose to use two calves forever encapsulated in formaldehyde within glass cubes. Many animal activists frowned upon this showcase as it left the impression these animals were murdered for such art. I think it’s safe to say that the calves died of natural causes. All in all, the calves represent the offerings of the two brothers and that animals have been sacrificed and given to humans since the beginning of time. I would think Hirst hoped to have reached a religious audience with this work.
Why The Story of Cain and Abel Still Needs Telling
Depicting Cain and Abel successfully for an artist requires the use of symbolism, referencing the sacrifice or the vocation of the two brothers. Capturing the act of murder between the two brothers provides valuable information to relay to viewers that the piece at hand is of the biblical story of Cain and Abel. Like I mentioned earlier in this story, Cain and Abel represent the ever so ongoing fall of man that continues on from generation to generation where it seems that half of mankind is of goodwill trying to remain under God’s graces and the other half lacking respect for the Almighty, acts in response to their emotion and takes justice into their own hands.