On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P00501
- Author
- Veronese, Paolo (Italian)
- Title
- Cain as a Fugitive with his Family
- Chronology
- Ca. 1585
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 105 cm x 153 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
The scene illustrates Cain's
punishment for having killed his
brother Abel. God condemned him to
wander the earth with his family,
escaping the attack of wild beasts
(Genesis 4, 11-16). Veronese
situates the action in a desolate
setting with only a tree. Wearing a
lion skin and holding a club, Cain
watches as his wife breast-feeds
their son, sheltered by a
boulder.
The wife and son are brightly lit,
in contrast to the figure of Cain,
who is darker and has his back to
the viewer, which is the painter's
way of emphasizing his guilt.
This work is listed for the first
time in Spain in the 1666 inventory
of Madrid's Alcázar Palace. It
entered the Prado Museum collection
in 1854.
Location on the map
