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. Peter the Apostle |
Saint Peter the Apostle: The face has a flush natural to an old man and a corresponding frailty in the delicate skull and the stretched neck muscles. The halo has a sun-burst shape but has been set almost flat atop the back of the head. Most sunburst halos are vertical and placed behind the head. The first joint of the right index finger is broken off. The right palm seems to have been re-done and has a rubbery look, but otherwise the extremities have an eloquent realism. Veins shine through the skin of the back of the left hand, nails are realistically detailed, toes have a craggy look. The awkward arrangement of the robe and right sleeve suggest the possibility of movable arms. Local Name: San Pedro
Apóstol. Basis for Identification: Key, bald head, halo. Other characteristics: Gray hair, bare feet, yellow robe, white cape. Site: Church of San Pablo Huitzo. Location: Right of
the main altar. Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint, fabric clothing, metal halo, styrofoam key. Eyes: glass, no lashes. Hair: sculpted. Size: About 4 feet (120 cm.) Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Coixtlahuaca,
Etla, Mitla, Díaz
Ordaz,
Tamazulapan, Teitipac1,
Teitipac2,
Teotitlán1,
Teotitlán2, Teposcolula1,
Teposcolula2, Yanhuitlán. External Links: Next: On an
altar along the south wall, a statue of an
unidentified saint Introduction to San Pablo Huitzo 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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