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The First Mourning

William-Adolphe Bouguereau

William-Adolphe Bouguereau was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female human body.

Max Resolution:1390×1124 PX

Title:The First Mourning

Artists:William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Date:1888

Style:Academicism

Genre:genre painting

Medium:oil,canvas

Location:Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (MNBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina

Dimensions:252×203 cm

Copyright:Public domain

The First Mourning (in French Premier Deuil) is an oil on canvas painted in 1888 by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Its dimensions are: 79 /8 × 99 /8 inches (203 × 252 cm). This piece of art can be seen at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Spanish for National Museum of Fine Arts) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

This work depicts the moment after Adam and Eve just found the body of their son Abel, who was murdered by Cain. This is the first human death recorded in the Bible. Abel was the first martyr.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau had suffered the loss of his second son shortly before painting this work.

Its original name is "Premier Deuil", in French, of which "The First Mourning" is a literal translation.