Exchange: Cain and Abel

7 Items in this Learning Collection

The Bible: Abraham Approaching Sodom with Three Angels

Collection Object

The Destruction of Sodom

This is a brown ink and wash drawing on a light background that depicts an expansive landscape with three figures in a row in the center area. The foreground shows a rocky, mountainous area with the figures standing on a ledge and square-shaped buildings, or walls, on a rise to the right. One figure is an old man with long white hair and a beard, who is wearing a draped robe and holding a staff. A woman is walking behind him on the path and balancing a vessel on her head. Another woman, behind her, has her arms at her side and looks downward. In the middle and far section of the drawing there is a walled city being destroyed with violent flooding of the city gates and eathquake-like destruction of the buildings. Far down the path a lone woman raises her hands in a gesture of distress. There are turbulent cloud formations in the sky.

Collection Object

Eve Tempted by the Serpent

A nude woman with long hair flowing down her back grasps a tree branch with her right hand and bends it downward in order to more easily pluck the green fruit dangling at its tip with her left hand. Her white body contrasts starkly with the darker tones of the surrounding landscape. The less conspicuous figure of a serpent with the head of a bearded man coils about the trunk of the tree next to the woman and fixes her with his stare.

Collection Object

Cain Slaying Abel

Collection Object

Der Erste Tag, from the series 'The Transformations of God'

Collection Object

Cain and Abel

Collection Object

Lot and His Daughters

Collection Object

Copyright

Cain and Abel

Accession Number
1964/1.129

Title
Cain and Abel

Artist(s)
Odilon Redon

Object Creation Date
1886

Medium & Support
etching and drypoint on paper

Dimensions
7 5/16 in. x 4 3/4 in. ( 18.6 cm x 12.1 cm )

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Label copy
In the Old Testament Cain and Abel were the two sons of Adam and Eve. The elder Cain tilled the soil, and Abel raised sheep. When the brothers made offerings, God accepted Abel's gift from his flock but rejected Cain's offering from the field. After the Lord reprimanded Cain, he killed his brother in frustration. Redon capitalized on the opportunity to present male figures in violent action. Cain's swinging cloak powerfully conveys the vehemence of his gesture.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
intaglio print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Abel