Saint
Sebastian:
The figure is in the traditional Sebastian
stance and has curly blond shoulder-length hair. The right
arm has been repaired. The right middle finger is missing.
The paint is chipped in places, especially the left leg.
The loincloth is quite brief; there is a navel. A wooden
implement is in the left hand.
Local Name: San Sebastián.
Basis for Identification: Youth
in
mustache and goatee tied to a tree, naked except for a
loincloth. Red and bleeding arrow wounds.
Other characteristics: Ample curly
blond hair, gold loincloth.
Site: Church of San Miguel Achiutla.
Location: West end
of the north wall of the nave (see note).
Media and construction: Wood,
gesso,
paint. Eyes: painted eyes.
Size: About 3 feet (90 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Ocotlán,
Teotitlán,
Tilantongo,
Xoxocotlán,
Yanhuitlán.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Statues
of
Saint Sebastian in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: St.
Sebastian
Wikipedia: Saint
Sebastian
Christian Iconography: Saint
Sebastian,
Martyr
Next: A crucifix on the
first of four altars we shall visit on the north side of
the nave.
Previous santo
Achiutla introduction
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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