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

St. Luke

St. Luke:
The left hand is on the chest and the right points heavenward. The figure has a dark, curly beard and a receding hairline. The robe and mantle are both cream-colored and trimmed in gold. The mantle is draped in the manner typical of representations of biblical figures. The long, angular body, the lifted right hand, and the bold carving of the robe match the saint with the gray beard in the corner diagonally opposite. If the latter is indeed Saint Peter, this one may originally have been a Saint Paul, the patron of the church. In this respect the dark beard may be significant.
The statue is hollow and has been heavily repainted. The left foot is rotten and its toes are gone. Wood is visible where the bottom right of the robe is chipped. The left pinkie is missing. As a further indication of the polychrome construction, clearly visible is the line marking the end of the neck and head and the beginning of the torso.

Local Name: San Lucas.

Basis for Identification: Identified by a workman, Sr. Carlos Espinoza.

Site: Church of San Pedro y San Pablo Etla.

Location: In the courtyard of the former convento.

Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint. Eyes: glass. Hair: carved. Closed mouth.

Size: About 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm.)

Comparable santos in Oaxaca: We did not observe any.

External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Statues of Luke the Evangelist
Wikipedia: Luke the Evangelist
Christian Iconography: Saint Luke the Evangelist

Next: A statue of St. Thomas Aquinas

Previous santo

Introduction to San Pedro y San Pablo Etla

Santos Home Page

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.