Circle of Hans Degler (Munich, 1564 - 1637, Weilheim)
Saint Michael, about 1600
Polychromed wood, 68 cm (26 3/4 in.)
Painted wooden sculpture of Saint Michael battling a demon who is part human, part animal. The demon, who is painted a deep red, is stretched out horizontally on his back across a decorative chopping block below the light-skinned Saint. Saint Michael is in a very slight three-quarter pose, standing on the demon. He has shoulder-length brown curls and a slight smile on his face, his brown eyes looking down at the demon. The Saint has one foot raised on the demon’s chest, the other on the demon’s waist. Saint Michael holds a spear across his body, with the tip of the spear in the demon’s mouth. He is dressed in a dark burgundy tunic over a softly-gathered skirt. The tunic has two layers of three-quarter length sleeves and is embellished in gold – heavily around the square neck, plus a gold band around the bottom edge of the tunic and around the hem of the skirt as well. The skirt is slit so that the saint's boots can be seen laced up to below the knee (while his toes are exposed). He has two large wings, once gold but now darkened. The demon has short, scraggy black hair and two small horns as well as pointed ears. He is bare-chested but wears a skirt of animal fur. The demon too has wings, but they are like bat's wings, and his fingers and toes are like claws. He has a dragon-like tail that coils around his flailing legs. His left arm is raised, and his right arm rests against the block below him. Below the flat panel the demon rests on, the square base of the block has a rectangular central blue panel that reads “S. Michael”.
Polychromed wood, 68 cm (26 3/4 in.)