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 |
Unidentified Saint |
Unidentified saint: The skin has a rubbery look, except at the toes, which have a rugged realism. The statue has moveable arms. The left sleeve has been pinned to the waist so as to prop up the arm and display the wound in the left palm. The red cape, white robe, absence of tonsure, and stigmata sug-gest this could be a Christ, but there is no crown of thorns, nor any blood where the thorns would have been, and the long face has a long, full beard very like that of the San Pablo, also dressed in white and red, on the main altar to the right of this statue. Basis for Identification: Stigmata, short-cropped hair, bare feet, white robe, red cape. Site: Church of San Pablo Huitzo. Location: Left of the retablo of the main altar (see note). Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint, fabric garments. Eyes: glass, no lashes. Hair: carved. Size: About 5 feet (150 cm.) Next: In
the center of the main altar, a statue of St. Paul 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
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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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