Cain and Abel (Titian)

Painting by Titian

Cain and Abel

Artist| Titian
Year| c. 1543–1545
Medium| oil on canvas
Dimensions| 298 cm × 282 cm (117 in × 111 in)
Location| Santa Maria della Salute, Venice

Cain and Abel (Italian: Caino e Abele) is an oil painting by the Venetian painter Titian. It was made in about 1543–1545 for the church of Santo Spirito, but is now in the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute.

## Subject

[edit]

Further information: Cain and Abel

The scene in question is the first murder recounted in the Genesis narrative. Cain and Abel were two brothers, the first sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the firstborn, was a farmer, and Abel was a shepherd. The brothers made sacrifices to God, but God accepted the firstlings offered by Abel rather than the first fruits offered by Cain. Cain, full of jealousy, called out Abel into the fields, and slew him.[1]

## History

[edit]

It was about the beginning of the 1540s that Titian received commissions for a great number of pictures from the brothers of the church of Santo Spirito, who already possessed the work of his early career, the San Marco Enthroned. One altarpiece represented the Descent of the Holy Spirit, but having been damaged had to be restored later by Titian. The picture on the same subject, which is now in the Church of the Salute, belongs to another period in Titian's activity. The whole collection of art treasures from Santo Spirito was transported to the Church of the Salute in the seventeenth century, where they remain today.[2][3]

In the ceiling of the sacristy of the Salute, above the altar, are three creations of this period (c. 1543–1544): Cain and Abel, Abraham and Isaac, and David and Goliath.[2]

## Analysis

[edit]

Georg Gronau writes of these three pictures collectively:

Cain and Abel (1542–1544)

> We shall easily perceive the connection between these subjects; all are scenes fitted to display passionate movement, and in each there are only a few—two or three—figures. Talent and temperament alike urged the artist to choose these themes; his artistic insight prompted him to limit the number of the figures for the sake of simplicity of design—unless, indeed, his patrons had themselves suggested the subjects. The surroundings are almost the same in all three pictures—brown soil, rocky cliffs; we feel ourselves transported to mountain heights; above and behind the figures the sky is gloomy and heavy with clouds. From this background stand out in strong relief the colossal human forms, brownish-yellow in colour. Here we see a falling man still trying to defend himself feebly with one arm; over him about to renew the blow is Cain, with his foot on his victim. There we see the tall, erect form of Abraham in twofold action—his left- hand rests on the neck of the boy who is kneeling on the pile of wood, his right hand brandishes the sacrificial knife, and at the same time he turns right round to the angel who has stayed his movement, light across the whole of the third picture lies aslant the body of the giant; over him stands the boy David, who raises his arms in gratitude to Heaven; a ray of sunshine breaks through the heavy clouds.

> For grandeur of conception Titian here—if anywhere—approaches Michelangelo. These human beings, with their great strength of muscle and their heroic action, are called into existence by his power as a draughtsman; but the scheme of colour is peculiar to himself; we notice how the predominating sombre tint puts together the strong local colours, and how the composition in colour contributes not less than the composition in line to produce a solid effect of powerful life. The richest in tragic interest of the three works is earned out in a very dark key, so that the brownish forms appear as the lighter parts.[4]

## Gallery

[edit]

* Print by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli after his own drawing (1669)

* Etching by V. Lefebvre after J. van Campe (1682)

## See also

[edit]

* List of works by Titian
* Cain and Abel (Tintoretto)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Genesis 4:1–16.
2. ^ a b Gronau 1904, p. 123.
3. ^ Ricketts 1910, p. 102.
4. ^ Gronau 1904, pp. 123–25.

## Sources

[edit]

* Biadene, Susanna, ed. (1990). "Ceiling of the Church of Santo Spirito in Isola". Translated by Hecker, Sharon; Rylands, Philip; Wilkins, Elizabeth. In Titian: Prince of Painters. Italy: Prestel. pp. 255–58.
* Gronau, Georg (1904). Titian. London: Duckworth and Co; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 123–25, 300.
* Kahr, Madlyn (1966). "Titian's Old Testament Cycle". Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 29: pp. 193–205.
* Ricketts, Charles (1910). Titian. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. p. 102.

* v
* t
* e

Titian

* List of works

Portraits|

* Jacopo Pesaro being presented by Pope Alexander VI to Saint Peter (1503–1506)
* A Man with a Quilted Sleeve (c. 1509)
* La Schiavona (1510–1512)
* A Man
* New York, c. 1512)
* (Indianapolis, c. 1515
* Shepherd with a Flute (c. 1510–1515)
* A Man in a Red Cap (c. 1510–1515)
* A Sick Man (1515)
* A Knight of Malta (c. 1515)
* Jacopo Sannazaro (c. 1514–1518)
* Gian Giacomo Bartolotti da Parma (c. 1515-1518)
* Vincenzo Mosti (c. 1520)
* Young Woman in a Black Dress (c. 1520)
* Man with a Glove (c. 1520)
* Laura Dianti (c. 1520–1525)
* Alfonso I d'Este (1523)
* A Lady (c. 1525–1565)
* Federico II Gonzaga (c. 1529)
* Giacomo di Andrea Dolfin (c. 1531–1532)
* Alfonso d'Avalos with a Page (1533)
* Charles V with a Dog (1533)
* Ippolito de' Medici (1532–1533)
* Giacomo Doria (1533–1535)
* Charles V (1533–1535)
* Isabella d'Este (1534–1536)
* La Bella (1536)
* Girl in a Fur (1536–1538)
* Count Antonio Porcia and Brugnera (c. 1535–1540)
* A Man with a Falcon (c. 1525-1537)
* Eleonora Gonzaga della Rovere (1538)
* Francesco Maria della Rovere (1536-1538)
* Cardinal Pietro Bembo (1539–1540)
* Benedetto Varchi (c. 1540)
* Pope Sixtus IV (c. 1540)
* A Young Englishman (1540–1545)
* Ranuccio Farnese (c. 1542)
* Clarissa Strozzi (1542)
* The Vendramin Family (1543–1547)
* Pietro Aretino (1545)
* Lavinia Vecellio (c. 1545)
* Pope Paul III (1545–1546)
* Pope Paul III with Camauro (1545–1546)
* Pope Paul III and His Grandsons (1545–1546)
* Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (c. 1545–1546)
* Pier Luigi Farnese (1546)
* Andrea Gritti (c. 1546–1550)
* Equestrian Portrait of Charles V (1548)
* Charles V (seated) (1548)
* Isabella of Portugal (1548)
* John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (c. 1550–1551)
* A General (c. 1550)
* Philip II in Armour (1551)
* Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo (1552)
* Philip II (1554)
* Woman Holding an Apple (c. 1550–1555)
* Girl with a Platter of Fruit (c. 1555–1558)
* Fabrizio Salvaresio (1558)
* An Unknown Lady (c. 1550–1560  – also attributed to Titian's workshop)
* Jacopo Strada (1567–1568)
* A Lady in White (c. 1561)

Self portraits|

* Self-Portrait (1546–1547)
* Self-Portrait (c. 1560)

Secular|

* Detroit Trio (c. 1500 – also attributed to Giorgione and others)
* The Birth of Adonis (c. 1506–1508)
* The Legend of Polydoros (c. 1506–1508)
* Justice (c. 1508)
* Pastoral Concert (c. 1509 – also attributed to Giorgione)
* Dresden Venus (with Giorgione, c. 1510)
* The Lovers (c. 1510 – attributed)
* The Three Ages of Man (c. 1512–1514)
* Sacred and Profane Love (c. 1514)
* The Feast of the Gods (1514)
* Venus and Cupid (1510–1515)
* Lucretia and her Husband Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus (1515)
* The Bravo (c. 1515)
* Flora (c. 1515)
* Vanity (c. 1515)
* Violante (c. 1515)
* Woman with a Mirror (c. 1515)
* The Worship of Venus (1518–19)
* Venus Anadyomene (c. 1520)
* Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–1523)
* The Bacchanal of the Andrians (1523–1526)
* Allegory of Marriage (c. 1530–1535)
* Eleven Caesars (1536–1540)
* Venus of Urbino (1538)
* Alfonso d'Avalos Addressing his Troops (1540)
* Venus and Musician (several versions, 1540s–1570s)
* Tityus (1549)
* Sisyphus (1549)
* Danaë (several versions; 1543–1565)
* Venus and Adonis (several versions)
* Mars, Venus and Amor (c. 1550)
* Pardo Venus (1551)
* Venus with a Mirror (1555)
* Perseus and Andromeda (1554–1556)
* Diana and Actaeon (1556–1559)
* Diana and Callisto (1556–1559)
* The Death of Actaeon (c. 1559–1575)
* The Rape of Europa (c. 1560–1562)
* The Concert (c. 1543–1564)
* Venus Blindfolding Cupid (c. 1565)
* Allegory of Prudence (c. 1565–1570)
* Nymph and Shepherd (c. 1570)
* Tarquin and Lucretia (comp. 1571)
* Flaying of Marsyas (1570–1576)

Religious|

* Christ Carrying the Cross  (c. 1505 – also attributed to Giorgione)
* Bache Madonna (c. 1508)
* Flight into Egypt (c. 1508
* Rest on the Flight into Egypt (c. 1508)
* Lochis Madonna (1508–1510)
* Saint Mark Enthroned (c. 1510)
* The Gypsy Madonna (c. 1510)
* Holy Family with a Shepherd (c. 1510)
* Christ and the Adulteress
* Glasgow, c. 1510)
* (Vienna, c. 1520
* Virgin and Child Between Saints Anthony of Padua and Roch (c. 1511)
* The Resurrected Christ (c. 1511–12)
* Baptism of Christ (c. 1512)
* Virgin and Child with Saints Stephen, Jerome and Maurice (Paris; c. 1510–1525)
* Miracle of the Jealous Husband (1511)
* Balbi Holy Conversation (c. 1513)
* Noli me tangere (c. 1514)
* The Archangel Raphael and Tobias (c. 1512–1514; c. 1540–1545)
* Salome
* Rome, c. 1515)
* (Madrid, c. 1550)
* (Private, c. 1570
* Madonna of the Cherries (1515)
* The Tribute Money (c. 1516)
* Assumption of the Virgin (1516–1518)
* The Virgin and Child with Saint George and Saint Dorothy (1516–1518)
* Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and an Unidentified Saint (c. 1515–1520)
* Madonna and Child with Four Saints (c. 1516–1520)
* Pesaro Madonna (1519–1526)
* Virgin and Child with Saints Anthony Abbot, Jerome and Francis (c. 1519)
* Gozzi Altarpiece (1520)
* Virgin and Child with Saints Stephen, Jerome and Maurice (Vienna; c. 1520)
* Malchiostro Annunciation (c. 1520)
* The Entombment of Christ (c. 1520)
* Averoldi Polyptych (1520–1522)
* Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (1525)
* The Assassination of Saint Peter Martyr (1529)
* Aldobrandini Madonna (1530)
* Madonna of the Rabbit (1530)
* Madonna of the Roses (c. 1530)
* Penitent Magdalene (1531)
* Saint Jerome in Penitence (1531)
* Pilgrims at Emmaus (c. 1533–1534)
* Supper at Emmaus (c. 1534; c. 1545)
* The Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple (1534–1538)
* Saint John the Baptist (1540)
* Sciarra Madonna (c. 1540)
* The Crowning with Thorns (1542–43)
* Ecce Homo
* Vienna, 1543
* David and Goliath (c. 1542–1544)
* Abraham and Isaac (c. 1543–1544)
* Cain and Abel (c. 1543–1545)
* Serravalle Altarpiece (1548)
* Castello Roganzuolo Altarpiece (1549)
* The Fall of Man (c. 1550)
* Penitent Magdalene (c. 1550)
* Saint Jerome in Penitence (1552)
* The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence (c. 1548–1559)
* La Gloria (1554)
* Christ Appearing to his Mother after his Resurrection (1554)
* Mater Dolorosa with Clasped Hands (c. 1555)
* Saint Jerome in Penitence (1575)
* Crucifixion (1558)
* The Entombment (1559)
* Saint Margaret and the Dragon (c. 1559)
* Annunciation (1559–1564)
* Madonna and Child with Saints Luke and Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1560)
* Penitent Magdalene (1565)
* Saint Dominic (c. 1565)
* Judith with the Head of Holofernes (c. 1570)
* Religion saved by Spain (1572–1575)
* Saint Sebastian (c. 1575)
* The Crowning with Thorns (1576)
* Pietà (1576)

Museums|

* Casa natale di Tiziano Vecellio

Related|

* Orazio Vecellio (son)
* Francesco Vecellio (brother)
* Cesare Vecellio (cousin)
* Marco Vecellio (nephew)
* Girolamo di Tiziano (disciple)
* Titian (crater)

* v
* t
* e

Cain and Abel

Book of Genesis

Biblical characters|

* Adam
* Eve
* Cain
* Abel
* Enoch
* Awan

Portrayals in media|

| Film|

* East of Eden (1955)
* Caín (1984)
* La Biblia en pasta (1984)
* The Last Eve (2005)
* Year One (2009)
* Abel Cain (unmade)

|

Plays|

* Le Jeu d'Adam (12th century)
* Cain (1821)

Musicals|

* Children of Eden (1991)
* Here's Where I Belong (1968)

Literature|

* Book of the Penitence of Adam
* East of Eden (1952 novel)
* Abel Sánchez: The History of a Passion (1917)
* The Book of Lies (2008 novel)

Songs|

* "Should the Bible Be Banned" (1988)
* "Cain's Blood" (1995)

Other|

* Cain and Abel (Titian) (c. 1545 painting)
* Cain and Abel (Tintoretto) (c. 1550 painting)
* La mort d'Abel (1810 composition)
* The First Mourning (1888 painting)
* Cain and Abel (2009 TV series)
* Cain and Abel (DC Comics)

Related theology|

* Adam and Eve
* Gospel of Judas
* Curse and mark of Cain
* Serpent seed
* Cain and Abel in Islam
* Balbira and Kalmana

Other|

* Generations of Adam
* Timeline of Genesis patriarchs
* Land of Nod
* Dracula: The Dark Prince

*[c.]: circa
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template