Who painted The Death of Abel?

Michiel Coxie painted The Death of Abel in 1550.

What Bible passage does The Death of Abel depict?

The Death of Abel depicts the biblical scene from Genesis 4:8-16.

Where is The Death of Abel located?

The Death of Abel is housed at Museo del Prado, Paseo del Prado, Madrid.

The Death of Abel by Michiel Coxie

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According to the Book of Genesis (Gen. 1: 4, 3-12), Adam´s sons each made offerings to the Lord, who was pleased with Abel´s but not with Cain´s. Jealous of his brother, Cain slew Abel, suffering the ire of God and banishment. As tradition has it, Abel was beat to death with the jawbone of an ass. Michiel Coxcie chose to depict the moment immediately following the crime. Abel lies on his back with the jawbone on his body while, from Heaven, God banishes Cain. In the background are two fires with the two offerings. Abel´s, which was pleasing to the Lord, is larger, as the goods he offered were the finest he had, unlike the poor selection offered by Cain. The work shows the influence of Italian painting on Coxcie, especially in Abel´s robust body, which is taken directly from the figure of Christ in Michelangelo´s Last Judgement at the Sistine Chapel. Despite the fact that Coxcie was one of Felipe II´s favorite painters, this painting didn´t appear in Spain until 1746, as part of the collection of Isabel de Farnesio.

Details

Artist: Michiel Coxie
Created: c. 1550
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimension: 151cm × 125cm
Passage: Genesis 4:8-16
Housed at: Museo del Prado Paseo del Prado, Madrid

Found in: Genesis, Genesis 4, 16th century, Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:8-16

8 Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.

9 Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?” He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 Yahweh said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.

11 Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

12 From now on, when you till the ground, it won’t yield its strength to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth.”

13 Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, you have driven me out today from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. Whoever finds me will kill me.”

15 Yahweh said to him, “Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, so that anyone finding him would not strike him.

16 Cain left Yahweh’s presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Genesis 4:8-16 · World English Bible

The artist

Michiel Coxie

1499 - 1592

Mechelen, Belgium

Michiel Coxie (Coxie also spelled van Coxcie or de Coxien) was a Flemish painter who studied under Bernard van Orley, who probably induced him to visit the Italian peninsula.