Angel and Devil
Palsied People
Mexico

Carved from the soft and worm-eaten wood of a cork tree, this set creates the impression of a ragged and rocky terrain. At its center, there is a cave built into the tree trunk which shelters the baby and his parents. The figure of Mary, standing upright and silhouetted as Our Lady of Lourdes, looms from the cave and dwarfs even the humble elephant who is begging to enter. Right and left of the cave are the minuscule streets and city blocks of "little town of Bethlehem." The most fascinating figures are the angel and the devil. The angel sits on one of the promontories surrounding the cave, and reverently watches over the Christ child. With his immense and streaming mane of hair and feathers he looks like one of the eerie and terrifying figures straight out of William Blake's illustrations of the Apocalypse. Behind his back, crouching literally between a rock and a hard place, is the coarse figure of the devil. The earliest and permanent adversary of Christ-Redeemer, he is a popular figure in many nativity scenes. For a time, he is held in check by the angel but for how long? The unknown artisans of this rustic and uncouth but moving creation are experiencing a most personal odyssey between heaven and hell of their own: they are palsied people.