Cain and Abel from Genesis Chapter 4
Original title: Plate 2: Cain and Abel from Genesis Chapter 4, after a lost fresco in the basamento of Bay 2 of the Vatican Loggia
kurzbeschreibung
The murder of Abel by his brother Cain, from Genesis 4, is captured in this etching by Pietro Santi Bartoli, made between 1650 and 1677. It belongs to a series that reproduces lost frescoes from the Vatican Loggia. The image fixes the moment of the crime between the two brothers, surrounded by other figures in a landscape with classical overtones.
Description
Cain grips a skull and turns away from Abel, who kneels on the ground and wields a weapon. Around them stand figures reacting in various ways, some in patriarchal robes, others in armor that recalls Roman models. Trees and rocks frame the space. Everything is drawn in a single tone, with light falling evenly across the surface; the execution is detailed and historicizing.
Context
Bartoli, an Italian engraver of the Baroque, was known above all for his reproductive prints after ancient and modern art. Raphael and his workshop had decorated the Vatican Loggia with biblical frescoes, including the base zone (basamento). The model for this etching was a fresco now considered lost; the print was evidently meant to document and disseminate the decoration. It forms part of a series issued between 1650 and 1677.
Impact
Clear lines and calm, even light give the sheet something of a factual, almost archaeological record of the biblical event. Armor and historicizing dress distance the action, while the encounter between Cain and Abel retains its dramatic tension. All in all, a precise, richly worked impression that brings the lost painting vividly to mind.
Technique
The sheet was made as an etching, an intaglio process: the drawing is scratched into a metal plate, and acid bites the lines. Bartoli used fine strokes and hatching to bring out details and shading. The sheet measures 9 × 24.5 cm, the plate 7.8 × 23.5 cm — a narrow horizontal format, as was customary for reproducing friezes or base panels.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)