Painted wood retablo, 'Chapel of Loreto' (Peru)

Starlight pours from the heavens, illuminating the stable where the Christ child was born. Alejandro Chavez brings the scene to the 15th century chapel of the Virgin of Loreto, located in Huamanga in the province of Ayacucho. Known as a retablo, this traditional diorama is housed in a colorful chest crafted of wood. Chavez carefully models each figure from ceramic plaster and paints them by hand.