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 San Pedro y San Pablo Etla:

Angel
Christ at the pillar
Christ: Ecce Homo
Christ fallen under the cross
Christ in the pretorium
Crucifix
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
St. Anthony of Padua
St. Luke
St. Paul
St. Peter the Apostle
St. Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr)
Soledad group
Unidentified saint (1)
Unidentified saint (2)
Unidentified saint (3)
Virgin Mary

Other santos not photographed


Christ at the Pillar

Christ at the Pillar:
The figure hunches forward slightly. The hair and beard are neat and smooth. The hands are tied to the pillar. The pillar is fluted, has a Corinthian capital, and seems to be a part of the base. The right hand is raised slightly and is bloody on the palm and the insides of the fingers. Blood flows along the figure's back and from the temples. The elbows and knees have lesions, and there are whip marks on the left thigh and calf. The feet are large. The perizoma is knotted in a single loop over the left hip.

Basis for Identification: Pillar, naked torso, wounds.

Other characteristics: Red perizoma.

Site: Church of San Pedro y San Pablo Etla.

Location: Niche in the second bay of the south wall of the nave (see note).

Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint.

Comparable santos in Oaxaca: AchiutlaCoixtlahuaca, Huitzo.

External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Statues of Christ at the Column
Catholic Encyclopedia: Devotion to the Passion of Christ
Wikipedia: Flagellation of Christ
Christian Iconography:  Jesus is Scourged...and Displayed to the Crowd

Next: Walking back to the first bay in the south wall, we find a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Previous santo

Introduction to San Pedro y San Pablo Etla

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.