Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient ChurchesA 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
Santiago Cuilapan: |
Christ Carrying the Cross |
Christ Carrying the Cross: The face is bloodied in streaks running from the hairline. The crown of thorns is missing. The arms seem movable and the hands are carved so as to hold the cross, but they hang at hip level in front of the body. The three foot cross (90 cm.) rests on the right shoulder and is rather unusual: wood and gesso painted in a design of gold grape clusters and grape leaves on a green background. The four ends of the cross have four-inch (10 cm.) brass caps. The two pieces are dowel-shaped. Basis for
Identification: Blood on face, cross on shoulder. Other characteristics: White
gown with gold trim. Site: Basilica of Santiago Cuilapan. Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint, fabric robe. Hair: real. Eyes: glass. Size: About 5½
feet (165 cm.) Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla, Tlaxiaco,
Yanhuitlán,
Zimatlán. Above: Detail of face and design on cross (click picture for enlargement). External Links: Next: A crucifix Introduction to Santiago Cuilapan The photos shown here are 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 them 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 either of these photos, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. |