Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient Churches

A study of santos in 16th-century and other churches in Oaxaca, Mexico


By Claire and Richard Stracke
Funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation


In San Miguel Achiutla:

Christ at the Pillar
Christ carrying the Cross
Crucifix
Our Lady of Sorrows (Soledad)
Our Lady of the Rosary

Resurrected Christ

Sacred Heart of Jesus + Christ Child
St. John the Baptist
St. Joseph
St. Michael (1)
St. Michael (2)

St. Michael (3)
St. Michael (4)
St. Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr)
St. Rose of Lima
St. Sebastian
Unidentified Dominican saint
Unidentified saint

Virgin Mary Altar
Virgin Mary in White

Christ at the Pillar

pillar

Christ at the Pillar:
The figure is quite bloody, with deep lesions at the knees. It is bald beneath the wig. Under the fabric loincloth is a carved one. The statue is in good physical condition, with all fingers intact.

Basis for Identification: Cords, wounds, pillar (to signify flogging -- see John 19:1).

Other characteristics: White loincloth.

Site: San Miguel Achiutla.

Location: On the second altar along the north wall of the nave (see note).

Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint, fabric loinclothEyes: painted, with eyelashes. Hair: wig.

Size: About 3 feet (90 cm.)

Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Etla, Coixtlahuaca, Huitzo.

External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Statues of Christ at the Column
Catholic Encyclopedia: Devotion to the Passion of Christ
Wikipedia: Flagellation of Christ
Christian Iconography:  Jesus is Scourged...and Displayed to the Crowd

Next: Standing at the right on this same altar, the Resurrected Christ

Previous santo

Introduction to San Miguel Achiutla

Santos Home Page

Note: On this site, references to the cardinal directions always assume that the main altar is at the east end of the church, the narthex or entry area at the west end, and the two walls of the nave on the north and south. (The nave is the long central section.) Actual orientations may differ.

The photo shown here is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. You are free to share or remix it on two conditions: first, that you attribute it to the photographers, Claire and Richard Stracke, without implying any approval of your work on their part; second, that if you alter, transform, or build upon this photo, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.