The picture’s subject matter is complex but the main figures are Cain & Abel who are held in Eve’s lap. The four other children symbolically hold the apple with which Eve was tempted. The background of the painting depicts various episodes from the story of Cain & Abel. The figure on the right is either Adam toiling or Abel tilling the ground. Immediately to the left and above are two figures, of which one is holding a bow and arrow but these do not appear in the Bible story. The figure in the shadow of the bushes may well be Cain who took refuge in the Land of Nod East of Eden after God’s curse had been put upon him for killing Abel. The final scene, top centre, shows Adam & Eve mourning over the body of Abel. The picture is attributed to Mostaert on stylistic grounds and on comparison with some of the landscape backgrounds in his portraits. The picture is likely to have been painted no earlier than the 1520, as it betrays an awareness of developments brought back from Italy by Jan van Scorel and Maerten van Heemskerck.

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