Cain fleeing after having slain Abel

Matthias Stom

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The print reproduces in reverse a painting attributed to Matthias Stomer (Stom) now in the Palazzo Abatellis, Palermo (inv.no.900) that depicts an episode from the Old Testament Book of Genesis. Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. The older son Cain was a farmer and Abel a shepherd. Both brothers made offerings to God - Cain produce from his land, Abel portions of fat from his flock. God preferred Abel's sacrifice instead of Cain's. Cain then murdered his brother, whereupon God condemned Cain to a life of wandering. The print shows Cain fleeing immediately after killing his brother. Stomer was Dutch painter who was active in Italy and lived in Naples, where he was greatly influenced by Jusepe de Ribera. For the painting see: 'Pittori del Seicento a Palazzo Abatellis', Palermo, Galleria Reginale della Sicilia 1990, cat.no. 25 (Vincenzo Abbate)

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.

Metropolitan Museum of Art