Cain Killing Abel n.d.

This drawing of Cain Killing Abel was made by Frans Floris I sometime in the mid-16th century. It depicts one of the foundational stories of the Judeo-Christian tradition, fratricide. The print was made in the Netherlands, then a territory of the Spanish Empire during a time of religious conflict. To properly understand an image like this, we need to look at the socio-political context within which it was made. Artists like Floris worked for wealthy patrons, including the church and the court. The image of the murder of Abel can be seen as a comment on the fratricidal religious conflicts that were taking place at the time between Catholics and Protestants. The historian brings to the artwork research skills that allow us to access different kinds of documentary evidence. These enable us to appreciate the meanings that images held in their own time.