Sometimes a Tender Thing is Just Out of Sight (Knecht Ruprecht)

Stacey Davidson creates marvelously expressive figural drawings modeled after character dolls of her own invention that she produces in her studio. She assigns each of her dolls a fictional persona based on gender, physical characteristics, and mode of dress. They serve as characters for her various portraits and narrative scenes, and in life, represent a full spectrum of human personalities. In Germanic folklore, the scruffy character Knecht Ruprecht is one of several sinister companions to Saint Nicholas (Father Christmas). Traditionally portrayed as a servant, farmhand, or foundling, Ruprecht meted out punishments to misbehaving children that ranged from a lump of coal left in a stocking to beatings, kidnapping, and murder. For Davidson, Ruprecht is primarily menacing, yet capable of moments of tenderness. Here, he carries what appears to be a doll, but the scene is ominous, given our knowledge of Ruprecht's cruel ways.