Description

The Genoese visual experience of the early seventeenth century is closely linked to two key figures of the Italian and European Baroque: Peter Paul Rubens and Antoon Van Dyck. Rubens lived in Genoa between 1604 and 1608, travelling directly from Rome, and thus bringing with him the lessons learned from the two ‘fathers’ of Roman Baroque, Caravaggio, and Annibale Carracci. His pupil, Van Dyck, became one of the most famous and contested portrait painters of his time. The influence of these two artists in this painting is particularly evident in the fast and very expressive brushstrokes on the bodies. The emotionality conveyed through the line is well suited to describe the dramatic nature of the event: Adam and Eve discover the body of their dead son Abel, killed by his brother Cain. The bloodless body lies on a rock: his pose is almost reminiscent of Salvator Rosa’s Prometheus at the Corsini Gallery; the colours are dark and smoky, except for the touches of light – almost violent – provided by the naked protagonists.