Cain holding a mirror watching his sacrifice engulfed in flames, Adam and Eve seated nearby; in the upper right an angel expelling them from Paradise
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 9 3/8 x 12 5/8 in. (23.8 x 32 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Phyllis Massar, 2011
Accession Number
2012.136.131
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking engraving, titled *Cain Holding a Mirror Watching His Sacrificeulfed in Flames, Adam and Eve Seated Nearby in the Upper Right an Expelling Them from Paradise captures a dramatic fusion of biblical episodes from Genesis. In the foreground, Cain gazes into a mirror as his offering burns—a symbol of divine rejection—while Adam and Eve sit mournfully nearby. Above, an angel drives them from Eden, evoking humanity's fall and the origins of sin. Created around 1530–50, it reflects Renaissance fascination with moral tales from scripture, blending tragedy and introspection. Attributed t...
About the Artist
Antonio Veneziano|Giulio Bonasone|Amico Aspertini (Italian|Italian|Italian) · 1509 |1510 |1474 –1536 |1576 |1552
Italian, active 1509–1536|Italian, active Rome and Bologna, 1531–after 1576|Italian, Bologna ca. 1474–1552 Bologna