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 Teotitlán del
Valle: Christ
Child |
St. John the Baptist |
St. John the Baptist The animal-skin garment is part of the carving and is unusual in covering the chest and shoulders and in the heavy multiple layering of the pelts that form the skirt. The book and lamb have been crudely tied to the left hand with a ribbon. The right hand is damaged.
Local Name: San Juan Bautista. Basis for Identification: Animal skins, book and lamb on left hand, floor-length gold-colored cross in right. Site: Church of Santa María
de la Natividad (Preciosa Sangre de Cristo),
Teotitlán del Valle. Location: In a niche in the retablo of the altar near the east end of the south wall of the nave (see note). Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint, fabric cape. Eyes: painted. Hair: carved hair. Size: About 3 feet (90 cm.) Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla,
Coixtlahuaca,
Huitzo,
Mitla,
Tamazulapan,
Tamazulapan (as child), Teitipac,
Teitipac
(Beheading), Teitipac
(San Juanito), Zimatlán. External Links: St. Michael the Archangel Local Name: San Miguel. Basis for Identification: Sword,
military garb, wings, halo. Other characteristics: A shield
inscribed with the words Quien como Dios (Who [is] like God). Location: In front of the statue of
St. John the Baptist. Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla1, Achiutla2, Achiutla3, Achiutla4, Cuilapan, Huitzo, Ocotlán, Tamazulapan, Teposcolula1, Teposcolula2, Teposcolula3, Yanhuitlán, Yanhuitlán Crucifix Group. External Links: Next:
Midway along the south wall, a statue of St. Joseph Introduction to Teotitlán del
Valle 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.
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