LA STATUE D’ABEL ET CAÏN

About

Jean-Marie Mengue – 1896

This sculpture depicts the moment immediately following the fratricide. Abel lies lifeless on the ground, whilst Cain realises the gravity of his deed.

The group depicting Cain and Abel is carved from light white Carrara marble. It stands on a rectangular plinth made of red Signac marble. The title of the work is carved in bas-relief on the front of the plinth; the sculptor’s signature is engraved on the right-hand side.

The sculpture is the work of Jean-Marie Mengue (1855–1939), a sculptor from Luchon. He is the creator of several other works in the town. The sculpture won a prize at the Salon in 1896: the gold medal with the distinction ‘hors concours’ (out of competition). The work, purchased by the State, was bequeathed to the town of Luchon in 1901: installed on the Quinconces, it was unveiled on 6 September 1903, at the same time as *La Vallée du Lys*, another work by the same artist situated nearby.

The statue was photographed by Trutat in 1906. On 13 September 1969, the sculptural group was severely damaged by a timber lorry. It was restored by the sculptor Maurice Boy in 1975, based on a plaster cast dating from 1894 and acquired by the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse in 1912.