Julio Vicente Merello Cerisola (Liguria, Italy, 1809–1876), married to María Catalina Alberti Ravina (Cadiz, Spain, b. 1818), El Puerto de Santa María, Cadiz; by inheritance to their son Agustín Merello Alberti (1842–1893) and their daughter-in-law María Josefa Gómez-Rull (1848–1918), El Puerto de Santa María, Cadiz; by inheritance to their son Jesús Merello Gómez-Rull (1875–1937) and their daughter-in-law María Josefa Álvarez-Campana Rivera (1881–1981), El Puerto de Santa María, Cadiz; by inheritance to their daughter Isabel Merello Álvarez-Campana (Italy, 1924–1996) and their son-in-law Fernando Carlos de Terry y del Cuvillo (1887–1952), El Puerto de Santa María, Cadiz; by inheritance to the last owner, Bilbao, Spain, 1996; Carteia Fine Arts, Madrid, 2020; LACMA, 2021.

This image of Saint Michael demonstrates the refinement that made Guatemalan sculpture legendary. The triumphant archangel stands over the fallen demon, rendered naturalistically with hairy skin, bulging glass eyes, and bone teeth. Carved from a single block of wood, the image bears a bewildering array of painted and incised patterns made to resemble fine textiles (estofados). Small sculptures such as this one were commissioned for private use in homes and convents.

From exhibition Archive of the World, 2022 (for more information see the catalogue entry by Ilona Katzew in the accompanying publication, cat. no. 28, pp. 139–43)