Listening

At left, a fatigued, pallid magician sits beneath an enormous, diagrammatic halo, holding a green book and a cross.

At right, a solicitous vermilion demon.

Severin's raised palm can be read as blessing, refusal, warning or simple exhaustion.

The ambiguity: he may be resisting corruption, but he also appears to be listening.

The demon’s reaching fingers hover at the boundary between temptation and tenderness.

The cross supplies the picture’s moral axis, though not necessarily its meaning.

The saint’s halo, so intricate that it resembles both a celestial mandala and an expensive serving tray.

Below, a kneeling red-clad figure.

A small boar grazes beside them with the serene indifference of an animal that has declined symbolism.