Hands and Feet A. Jimenez Clay
This sturdy and earth-bound Nativity offers an overall impression of solid foundation, stability, and secret drama. The figurines are solid and stable, little masterpieces escaping an amorphous and formless world of clay. But there is more. Take a closer look at their hands and feet. They are of disproportioned size and shape. They are huge, bony, even looking arthritic. In one word, they are impressive, and the true actors of the secret dramas played in this set. See the intensity of Mary's prayer expressed in the huge folded hands; Saint Joseph, a giant hand on his hip, standing there like the guardian angel of paradise; the Magi-Kings sitting on sturdy, long-legged and broad-hooved camels, reigning in the animals with strong and massive fists. Even the tiny figure of the shepherd with the sizable sheep on his shoulder finds its most dramatic expression in the enormous hand which is ready and eager to present its gift to the baby. Hands and feet have their own language. In this set, it is a language of intense concentration and disciplined strength all directed toward the one who calls himself "Prince of Peace."
Reprinted with permission - University of Dayton, Marian Library Collection. All rights reserved.