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 the Museum in the former convento at Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán:

Crucifix 1
Crucifix 2

Crucifix 3
Crucifix 4
Crucifix 5

St. Dominic
St. Dismas
St. Michael

Other santos not photographed

Tour of the Church
Tour of the Ayuxi Chapel

Crucifix 3

Crucifix 3:
The nailheads are large and elaborate and decorated with glass "jewels." The lips are parted. The blood flowing from the wound in the side comes in realistic bulbous drops. The crown does not appear to be original. The dark crosspieces are deeply and elaborately sculpted, and have highly decorative brass caps. Set atop the vertical piece is a carved gilt frame for the carved "INRI" letters, but only the first I and the N now remain.

Local Name: El Señor de la Misericordia.

Basis for Identification: Cruciform halo, faded red loincloth, crown of thorns, wounded side, skinned knees, flowing blood.

Other characteristics: No scutum.

Site: Museum of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán.

Location: East wall of the convento museum (see note).

Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint, fabric loincloth, metal halo and crown of thorns. Hair: sculpted.

Size: About 9 feet (275 cm.)

Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla, Santa Ana del Valle1, Santa Ana del Valle2, Santa 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, Tlacolula2Xoxocotlán1, Xoxocotlán2, Xoxocotlán3, Xoxocotlán4, Yanhuitlán1, Yanhuitlán2, Yanhuitlán Convento1, Yanhuitlán Convento2, 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: The fourth crucifix on the east wall

Previous santo

Introduction to the Museum at Yanhuitlán

Santos Home Page

Note: On this site, references to the cardinal directions in a church 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.) In Yanhuitlán, this schema extends the four directions to the Museum. That is, "east"   means parallel to the east side of the church, "south" to the south side, etc. 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.