The Proselytization of Prosthetics

A reproduction of The Book of Hours contains plates on adjacent pages depicting Portrait of René on the left and Nativity (Holy Family) on the right. Sheppard combines these two pages into one image, modifying René's shawl to represent the hand of Satan comforting him as he gazes upon Mother and Child. The Holy Family was altered into the shape of a semi-flaccid penis, symbolizing the artist's questioning of underlying religious motives.