Death and the Devil

This is my version of a popular theme in Mexican art, in which a skeleton and a devil embrace in a dance. In mine Death is about as lifeless as a rag doll and seems to be drug around by the Devil more than being involved in a dance with him.

I believe that this was my first representation of the Devil as a gentleman with a goat skull tied to his head. It is largely derived from the treatment of the skull in “Self Portrait With Cow Skull.” It has become my standard depiction of the Devil.

 

Return to "Death and the Devil."

 

(Paintings that feature the Devil as a man with a goat skull tied to his head are "Death and the Devil," "Witches' Sabbath," "the Temptation of Christ," and "San Simon, with Rey Pascual and Lucifer.")