Cain and Abel, the First

So, as I mentioned in my last post, since 2008, I've felt compelled to work on pieces that express my take on the character of Lucifer. This started off with a few paintings of him suffering after being cast out of heaven. Last time, I moved more towards his supposed role in the original sin. I expressly made the decision not to worry very much about the distinction between the various devil figures (Lucifer, Satan, Samael, Azazel, etc), but am instead following the story with Lucifer playing a very pitiable and human role. The role of an arrogant son, cast out by an all-too heavy handed father. The role of a distraught, directionless being finding some level of peace in helping a man and woman attain the knowledge they seek. Now the role of a father, unable to properly care for his son as a man might, but doing what he can all the same.

I find that being able to look at these stories from a mythological stand-point allows me to appreciate them quite deeply. Without concerning myself with matters of truth, I'm able to consider various dynamics between characters, and explore various archetypes that can be applied to each figure. Not that these ideas are anything original... I was pretty pleased with my idea of Lucifer as a human figure to be empathized with, back when I painted the first piece - more recently I've discovered that this idea became pretty popular in the past couple of centuries. Gat dangit!