# Cain Slaying Abel [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [MANFREDI, Bartolomeo]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 152 x 115 cm ## Commentary This painting is an early work by Bartolomeo Manfredi, in which he emulates Caravaggio in the supression of secondary details in order to achieve an effect of timelessness. The murder by the envious brother could be taking place in ancient history or in the Roman countryside. despite its simplicity, this Cain and Abel by Manfredi soon attracted the attention of distinguished collectors outside of Italy. By 1651 the painting had entered the famous collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels, where it was prominently displayed in the midst of Renaissance paintings by Titian and others, as seen in David Teniers the Younger's <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/t/teniers/jan2/1/gallery4.html'\)" href="/html/t/teniers/jan2/1/gallery4.html">painting of the picture gallery.</a> ## Related artworks - [Allegory of the Four Seasons]() - [Bacchus and a Drinker]() - [Christ Blessing]() - [Cupid Chastised]() - [Gypsy Fortune Teller]() - [Lute Playing Young Man]() - [Tavern Scene with a Lute Player]() - [The Capture of Christ]() - [The Denial of St Peter]() - [The Triumph of David]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()