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Saint Joseph:
The face has been repainted with an
artificial effect, especially at the left eye. The hands
are more authentic in appearance, the muscles showing
through realistically. The Christ Child is a separate
sculpture on the left hand; it has been turned to face
the visage of San José, which inclines, eyes
closed, toward the child. The figure stands in
polychrome sandals, feet spread apart. The lily stalk is
held in a circle formed by the thumb and middle finger
of the right hand, which is at shoulder height. There
are a few small areas in the polychrome of the garments
where the gold and paint have flaked away to reveal the
gesso beneath. The polychrome is in the same style as
that of the principal Santa Ana
on the main altar.
Local Name: San José.
Basis for Identification: Lily
rod in right hand, Christ child on left, both with full
silver crowns.
Site: Church of Santa
Ana del Valle.
Location: In a glass
case in the retablo of the central altar along the south
wall of the nave (see note).
Media and construction: Polychrome
(both figures). Metal crowns. Eyes:
painted.
Size: About 4½
feet (135 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla, Cuilapan1, Cuilapan2,
Mitla1, Mitla2, Ocotlán, Díaz
Ordaz, Teitipac,
Teotitlán,
Zimatlán.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons:
Statues
of Saint Joseph in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: St.
Joseph
Wikipedia: Saint
Joseph
Christian Iconography: Saint
Joseph, Father of Jesus
Next:
Continuing right to the next altar, we find a statue of
Our Lady of Candelaria.
Previous santo
Introduction to Santa Ana del Valle
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.
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