The First Funeral

Artist Ernest Barrias (French, 1841-1905)

Dateca. 1883

MediumBronze

DimensionsOverall: 33 1/2 x 21 x 17 in. (85.1 x 53.3 x 43.2 cm)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of the Mowbray Arch Society, 1992

Object number92.41

Terms

Religious
Bronze
Patina

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a bronze piece representing Adam, Eve and their son, Abel. It is from the biblical story in Genesis wherein Cain kills his younger brother Abel. Adam is carrying the dead body of Abel; Eve holds her son's shoulders, bent over him weeping. The figures are well proportioned and realistic. Adam has unique facial characteristics: a narrow face with heavy lips, as if it could be someone specific, in contrast to the less distinct faces of Eve and Abel.

Label TextLouis-Ernest Barrias French, 1841–1905 The First Funeral, ca. 1883 Bronze Adam heaves his son’s dead body while the sorrowful Eve cradles his limp head. The magnitude of their loss is palpable in Louis-Ernest Barrias’ sculpture, which depicts the grief-stricken moment when Adam and Eve carry their son Abel to his grave. The Bible describes how their first son, Cain, murdered Abel after God rejected an offering from Cain, but accepted one from Abel. The Bible doesn’t mention the funeral, but writers and artists expanded on the narrative with emotional scenes like the one depicted here. Gift of the Mowbray Arch Society 92.41