El Dios de la Muerte

17th century (est.)
Wood, gesso, paint. Eyes: glass, with eyelashes. Hair: wig.
About 5 feet long (150 cm.)
Church of the Assumption, Tlacolula, Oaxaca, Mexico

A santo of Christ kept in a glass-sided coffin. The crown of thorns lies on the coverlet, and blood streams down the face. All but the face is covered with a pink fringed coverlet. The whites of the eyes present a strong contrast to the dark skin and the heavily shadowed lids. The hair extends past the knees in long ropes of curls. There is a purple fabric headband at the blood-streaked brow. A painted green crown of thorns in the basketweave pattern lies at the breast. The knees are raised, perhaps suggesting that the figure is used in Holy Week as the crucified Christ. In this regard it may also be significant that the arms are held rigidly at the sides, as if they were hinged and could be extended.

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Photographed at the church by Claire and Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.