Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient ChurchesA 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 Pablo Huitzo: Christ |
St. Anthony of Padua |
San Antonio de Padua: The figure is well preserved. The face is finely made and has a five o'-clock shadow and lifelike skin tones. Three inches above the right wrist one can see where the hand is joined to the arm, which is painted blue. The sandals are carved as part of the foot. This may not have originally been a San Antonio, because the left hand is awkwardly crooked to hold the child and there is no book. The gaze is not in the direction of the child but heavenward and slightly to the right. The child has an amused expression and a baby-like way of holding the hands. Local Name: San Antonio de Padua. Basis for Identification: Franciscan habit with cowl, white knotted cord, child in arms. Other characteristics: Long neck. Site: Church of San Pablo Huitzo. Location: Left side of the second altar along the north wall of the nave (see note). Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint fabric garments. Eyes: glass. Hair: carved. Small teeth. The child has glass eyes, lashes on the left eye, and carved hair. Size: Life size. Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Coixtlahuaca, Etla, Mitla, Tamazulapan, Teitipac, Teposcolula, Tlacolula. External Links: Next: On
the same altar, a statue
of the Virgin Mary Introduction to San Pablo Huitzo 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;
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under the same or similar license to this one.
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