Depicting a passage from Genesis rarely illustrated in art, this canvas shows how God punished Cain for killing his brother Abel by condemning him and his family to wander through a hostile wilderness (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.