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 Santa Ana del Valle:

Candelaria
Christ: Ecce Homo
Crucifix (1)
Crucifix (3)
Crucifixion Group
Holy Family
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows (Soledad)
Palm Sunday Christ
St. Anne (1)
St. Anne (2)
St. Anne (3)
St. Joseph
St. Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr)
Trinity

Other santos not photographed

Crucifix

Crucifix:
The figure is apparently hewn from a single block of wood. It is crude, yet powerful in the play of weights and angles. The body is rigid and has not fully emerged from the wood, while the head that it supports is dynamic and individualized, with gentler curves. On the torso, the ribs are stylized by bold diagonal ridges. The figure ends in a rectilinear block from which the feet have not been fully carved. The blood flows from the five wounds in thin but prominent streams and is also represented in three parallel whip marks on the legs. There is no crown of thorns. The wig has come off the head. The cross is constructed of two simple boards, the "INRI" plaque being of a piece with the vertical board.

Local Name: El Señor de la Misericordia.

Basis for Identification: White loincloth and scutum, "INRI" plaque.

Site: Church of Santa Ana del Valle.

Location: Right of the retablo of the altar at the center of the north wall of the nave (see note).

Media and construction: Wood, fabric loincloth and scutum. Hair: wig.

Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla, Santa Ana del Valle1Santa Ana del Valle3, Cuilapan, Etla, Guelavia, Mitla, Nochixtlán, Tamazulapan1, Tamazulapan2, Teitipac1, Teitipac2, Teitipac3, Teitipac Our Lady of the Rosary, Teotitlán1, Teotitlán2, Teposcolula1, Teposcolula2, Teposcolula3 (in Rosary case),  Teposcolula Convento1, Teposcolula Convento2, Tilantongo1, Tilantongo2, Tlacolula1, Tlacolula2, Xoxocotlán1, Xoxocotlán2, Xoxocotlán3, Xoxocotlán4, Yanhuitlán1, Yanhuitlán2, Yanhuitlán Convento1, Yanhuitlán Convento2, Yanhuitlán Convento3, Yanhuitlán Convento4, Yanhuitlán Convento5, Yanhuitlán Ayuxi Chapel, Zimatlán.

External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Crucifixes in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: Archaeology of the Cross and Crucifix
Wikipedia: Crucifix
Christian Iconography: The Crucifixion

Next: Above the center of this altar, a statue of the Trinity

Previous santo

Introduction to Santa Ana del Valle

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.