364 - ANONYMOUS, LATE 19TH CENTURY

ANONYMOUS, LATE 19TH CENTURY The First Murder (Cain and Abel) oil on canvas (traces of grid lines, restorations, and small areas missing) unsigned 100x81 cm This painting is part of a body of work created in the second half of the 19th century, inspired by archaeological discoveries and the curiosity these sparked among the public and artists alike. These discoveries sparked an iconographic revival for painters who had somewhat exhausted the classical antiquity repertoire of the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman eras. A historicist context and the construction of a national identity fostered the emergence of these new subjects, which painters eagerly embraced. Following the Carolingian and Merovingian narratives depicted by Jean-Paul Laurens and Évariste Vital-Luminais, European prehistory became a field of exploration for artists tasked with bringing this previously unknown era to life through imagery. They developed an iconography based on scientific discoveries, and the period became a noble subject that temporarily revitalized history painting. Many artists tackled these subjects with varying degrees of lasting impact: Fernand Cormon, Paul Jamin, Maxime Faivre, and Émile Bayard. The revival was primarily iconographic: while the eras, settings, and props changed, the subjects depicted were most often transpositions of themes addressed in academic works. Two major themes dominate: violence and barbarism—scenes of fratricidal wars and brutal hominids—and the fantasy of a primitive golden age, depicting an innocent humanity through scenes of familial tenderness in front of a cave. Ultimately, the genre lends itself primarily to projecting contemporary issues onto a fantasized era rather than to a scientific depiction of the discoveries of a discipline still in its infancy.