Saint Francis of Assisi:
The figure stands with the right hand over
its heart, gazing at the stigmata in the left, which is
held up to his face.
The statue is hollow. The robe is stiffened cloth and is
chipped where the rosary's crucifix has been removed. The
head is also hollow, the gesso construction visible at the
decomposing right ear. It has highly detailed teeth and
shining eyes with elongated eyebrows dramatically raised.
A rosary hangs from the rope cincture.
Local Name: San Francisco de
Asís.
Basis for Identification: Tonsure,
brown habit, stigmata, cord.
Other characteristics: Rosary,
kneeling-figure amulets tied to left index finger and
left pinky.
Site: Church of San
Miguel Ejutla.
Location: East
wall of the chapel in the south wall of the nave
(see note).
Media and construction: Hollow
construction with gesso, stiffened cloth for the habit,
cincture of stiffened rope, black seeds for rosary
beads. The stigmata are painted on.
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Ejutla,
Teotitlán.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Statues
of Francis of Assisi in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: St.
Francis of Assisi
Wikipedia: Francis
of Assisi
Christian Iconography: St.
Francis of Assisi
Next: Our Lady of the
Assumption
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Introduction to San Miguel Ejutla
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.
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