Unidentified sculptor and polychromer
Saint Michael Vanquishing the Devil (San Miguel triunfante sobre el demonio)second half of the 18th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Polychrome wood sculpture of a winged armored figure standing over a prostrate demon, richly painted in gold, green, and red with gilded wings and a cross-topped staff

Polychrome wood sculpture of a winged angelic figure in gilded armor and flowing red and green robes, holding a cross aloft and a lance, standing atop a prostrate dark demonic figure; richly painted and gilded surface with estofado decoration.

Polychrome wood sculpture of a winged angel standing triumphantly atop a prostrate demonic figure, dressed in elaborately gilded green and red robes with gold embroidered details, holding a tall staff topped with a cross, with silver-painted feathered wings spread behind.

Polychrome wood sculpture, rear view of a winged figure in red and green robes with gilt brocade detailing, holding a small gold cross aloft, standing atop a crouching reddish-brown figure with dark horns; large dark wings spread upward.

Artist or Maker: Unidentified sculptor and polychromer
Title: Saint Michael Vanquishing the Devil (San Miguel triunfante sobre el demonio)
Place Made: Guatemala
Date Made: second half of the 18th century
Medium: Polychromed and gilded wood, silver gilt, bone, and glass
Dimensions: 20 × 14 1/2 × 8 1/2 in. (50.8 × 36.8 × 21.6 cm); staff: 18 × 2 1/2 in. (45.7 × 6.4 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2021.1a-b
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: This image of Saint Michael demonstrates the refinement that made Guatemalan sculpture legendary. The triumphant archangel stands over the fallen demon, rendered more lifelike with hairy skin, bulging glass eyes, and bone teeth. Carved from a single block of wood, the sculpture bears a bewildering array of estofados, painted and incised patterns made to emulate fine fabrics.

Small sculptures such as this one were commissioned for private use in homes and convents. The tradition of polychrome sculpture originated in Europe (the region of Andalusia in Spain was a main production center), but some of the finest practitioners were in Guatemala. The figures were made more naturalistic through the addition of real eyelashes and hair, ivory and bone teeth, glass eyes and tears, and the use of encarnaciones (the technique of painting flesh tones) for the faces, hands, and feet.

Ilona Katzew

2024
Provenance: 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.
Selected Bibliography: Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024

Related Exhibitions

Unidentified sculptor and polychromer
Saint Michael Vanquishing the Devil (San Miguel triunfante sobre el demonio)second half of the 18th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Unidentified sculptor and polychromer
Title: Saint Michael Vanquishing the Devil (San Miguel triunfante sobre el demonio)
Place Made: Guatemala
Date Made: second half of the 18th century
Medium: Polychromed and gilded wood, silver gilt, bone, and glass
Dimensions: 20 × 14 1/2 × 8 1/2 in. (50.8 × 36.8 × 21.6 cm); staff: 18 × 2 1/2 in. (45.7 × 6.4 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2021.1a-b
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: This image of Saint Michael demonstrates the refinement that made Guatemalan sculpture legendary. The triumphant archangel stands over the fallen demon, rendered more lifelike with hairy skin, bulging glass eyes, and bone teeth. Carved from a single block of wood, the sculpture bears a bewildering array of estofados, painted and incised patterns made to emulate fine fabrics.

Small sculptures such as this one were commissioned for private use in homes and convents. The tradition of polychrome sculpture originated in Europe (the region of Andalusia in Spain was a main production center), but some of the finest practitioners were in Guatemala. The figures were made more naturalistic through the addition of real eyelashes and hair, ivory and bone teeth, glass eyes and tears, and the use of encarnaciones (the technique of painting flesh tones) for the faces, hands, and feet.

Ilona Katzew

2024
Provenance: 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.
Selected Bibliography: Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024