The Lamentation of Abel

This work was carried out by Canova in his last years when the artist was thinking about the Temple and numerous sacred subjects.

Abel was Adam and Eve’s younger son. He was killed by his older brother Cain who was jealous of the preference granted to his brother by God (see Genesis 4,2-8). In the New Testament he is considered a martyr of faith and justice. The Death of Abel, is the theme of one of the metopes found in the Temple at Possagno.