Saint Joseph:
The saint is shown standing on a carved rock that is one
with the figure. The left hand is positioned so as to hold
the child easily. The right hand is curved to hold a
staff, though the lily stalk is not as old as the statue.
The tips of all four fingers of the right hand are
missing.
The narrow face is the portrait of an ascete with
large eyes, long thin nose, protruding ears and
prominent cheek bones. The heavy lids, protruding veins
at the temples and spots of high color at the cheeks
give him a feverish look.
The figure wears a robe of gessoed cloth over a
long-sleeved tunic. The robe has short sleeves that end
in a crenelated band of gold similar to the style of
dress of Saint
Hedwig in Tule. The polychrome is in a pattern of
four-inch (10 cm.) gold flowers and leaf arabesques on a
dark background. The gathering of the tunic can be seen
at the neck. The tunic sleeves have a small pattern of
white daisies touched with red. The mantle is gold lined
in red with a delicate tracery of gold. The T-strapped
sandals are polychrome. Over the long, carved hair is an
even longer wig of corkscrew curls. The halo is of
golden metal in the shape of a sun-flower within a
circle.
The child has outstretched arms but is not looking at
anything in particular. It is of wood, gesso and paint
with carved hair and with a pointed nose and chin. It is
a child's face, but not the cherubic face of most Infant
Jesus statues. The child wears a white robe trimmed in
gold and a red mantle edged in white lace. On the carved
hair is a silver-colored three-pointed tiara known as diadema
con palmas. The right hand is wrapped in a black
ribbon which may tie the child to the body of the Saint
Joseph.
Local Name: San José.
Basis for Identification: Child
in left arm, lily stalk in right.
Other characteristics: Beard,
sandals.
Site: Church of Santo
Domingo Díaz Ordaz.
Location: Northeast
corner of the nave (see note).
Media and construction: Polychrome,
metal halo. Dressed
child. Hair: wig.
Size: Joseph about 5 feet (150 cm.),
child about 2½ feet (75 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla,
Santa Ana del Valle,
Cuilapan1, Cuilapan2,
Mitla1, Mitla2, Ocotlán, 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:
Across the nave from this we see a statue of the Virgin and
Child.
Previous santo
Introduction to Santo Domingo
Díaz Ordaz
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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