THE DEATH OF ABEL

BY GEORGE FREDERICK WATTS, R.A.

Also known as “The Denunciation of Cain,” and originally painted in 1872, the halftone reproduction of Watts’ painting depicts the biblical tale of Cain in the moments after he has murdered his brother, Abel. The bottom half of the long image represents Cain straddling his dead brother’s body. His face and upper body are in shadow, but his musculature is visible, along with a piece of cloth covering his midsection. Light shines from the heavens onto his right leg. That light, however, is focused on the dead body of Abel. Abel’s lower body is not visible behind Cain, but his torso emerges from between Cain’s feet. His musculature is highlighted, and his arms are stretched out over his head, pointing towards the bottom right corner of the image. Abel’s head is turned toward the left and his eyes are closed. They are pictured in a wooded landscape full of shadows and the brothers are surrounded by tree trunks. Above Cain’s head, in the upper half of the image, are spirits from the heavens, portrayed as five different nude male bodies They appear to be flying amongst the clouds. One of the five faces the viewer but he is in shadow, so his features are unclear. He appears to be looking at the murder scene. To the right of that figure, another spirit is portrayed flying beneath the facing figure with the length of his body and the back of his head visible. He is turned upward. On the left of the image, the three remaining spirits all have their backs turned to the viewer, and move downward as if pushing the figure on the far right along his path, suggesting that they have come down from the heavens to collect Abel’s spirit.

MLA citation:

Watts, George Frederick. “The Death of Abel.” The Pageant, 1897, p.189. Pageant Digital Edition, edited by Frederick King and Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, 2019-2021. Yellow Nineties 2.0, Ryerson University Centre for Digital Humanities, 2021. https://1890s.ca/pag2-watts-abel/

magazine_images The Pageant 2 The Death of Abel George Frederick Watts, R.A. 1897 Oil painting on canvas Biblical scene with figure Swan Electric Engraving Company Cloud, Leaves, and Foliage Human Figure, Male Figure/ Man, Angel, Corpse, and Biblical figure Tree, Woods/ forest, Trees, and Heaven