CreatorAdriaen de Vries

Place of OriginPrague

Date1612

DescriptionAdriaen de Vries was one of the most celebrated sculptors in Europe. He spent much of his career in Prague and was appointed King’s Sculptor to Emperor Rudolf II in 1601. It was during this period that Cain and Abel was commissioned. In the early 1600s, Rudolf was involved in a bitter dispute with his brother Matthias, which culminated in Rudolf being overthrown and imprisoned. Cain and Abel almost certainly relates to this episode; depicting the story of a violent struggle between brothers. De Vries tended to produce unique casts of his bronzes, making his work is rare. Cain and Abel is one of only three works by the artist in the United Kingdom.

Tagssculpture; de vries; rudolf II; Prague

Dimensions745 x 280 x 380

Material/MediumBronze

Institutional Link to Objecthttp://collections.ed.ac.uk/art/record/19818

Image LicenseCC-BY

Image Rights Holder© The University of Edinburgh

Photographic CreditsPhotograph by Chris Park