Painted Eroticism: Sex and Death in the Cain and Abel’s Story

What is it about?

Using George Bataille’s concepts of continuity/discontinuity, eroticism, and death, I read the stories of Genesis 3-4 to demonstrate how these notions provide a hermeneutical framework to understand the myths of creation. I present a unique perspective around the idea of continuity/discontinuity, the role of work, and the possibility of killing latent in all humanity. I demonstrate how eroticism is part of the semantical potential of the stories and how the artistic renderings of Cain and Abel’s tale by Albrecht Dürer, Jan Harmensz, Daniele Crespi, and Alexandre Falguière actualize it.

Featured Image

Photo by Emiliano Vittoriosi on Unsplash

Photo by Emiliano Vittoriosi on Unsplash

Why is it important?

I analyze how in the paintings the experience of pleasure in eroticism is tightly bound together with states of fear and pain. I demonstrate how the visual representations can contribute to decentering closed models of subjectivity and spirituality that emerge within the history of interpretation. Finally, I offer an alternative reading of Cain’s mark using Bataille’s notions.

Perspectives