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 Juan Teitipac: Christ
carrying the Cross |
Saint Isidore the Laborer |
Saint Isidore the
Laborer:
The saint is shown driving a team of four muzzled oxen, which are disproportionately small. A red ox stands beside the team, and an 18 inch (45 cm.) angel stands behind the figure and to its left. The figure wears a flat-topped hat with a rolled brim, a tunic reaching to mid-thigh, trousers, and boots. The cape is blue. Bare wood shows through at the lower right breast, where the gesso has chipped away. Local Name: San Isidro Labrador Basis for Identification: Hat, team of oxen, angel, water gourd, basket, goad. Other characteristics: Blue cape with gold fringe. Site: Church of San
Juan Teitipac. Location: Under a canopy in the narthex (see note). Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint, fabric cape. Eyes: painted eyes; 3'3". Size: About 3 feet 3 inches (99 cm.) Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Coixtlahuaca, Huitzo, Tamazulapan, Teposcolula, Zimatlán. External Links: Next: The
santos of the north wall of the nave, starting with a statue of St. Simon
Stock Introduction to San Juan Teitipac 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. |