Stories like cain and abel
This strain of art, which flourished during the war, combined the idyllic pastoralism of Samuel Palmer (1805-1881) with a romantic sense that the natural world threatened mankind. Vaughan’s pictures up to 1946 conform to a type of English painting which has been called Neo-Romanticism. The latent homoeroticism of the picture is consistent with much of Vaughan’s work. In a deliberate compositional conceit, the weapon, and Cain and Abel’s heads are all aligned along the central vertical axis. In contrast, Cain’s tormented face, reminiscent of a tragic mask, stares out of the picture, his eyes unseen and his hair windswept as if caught in a storm. Abel’s head, bearing an almost serene expression, lolls pathetically against Cain’s massive chest. In his right hand is the weapon, possibly a bone of some sort, with which he has bludgeoned his brother. Cain is depicted standing in a louring landscape clutching Abel’s limp body. For Vaughan, who had been a conscientious objector during the Second World War (1939-45), it is likely the story had a special poignancy. As the first occurrence of murder in the Bible, the story has had considerable interest for artists over the centuries. Cain was thrown into a rage of jealousy when his brother Abel’s offering was accepted by God instead of his. The painting refers to the biblical story of Cain and Abel as recounted in chapter four of the Book of Genesis.