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 Santa María de
la Natividad, Tamazulapan: Angel |
Santos of the Main Altar
at Santa María de la Natividad
|
There are a large number of santos on the
retablo of the main altar. Here we describe just a few.
Unidentified Monk The figure is tonsured and holds a book in the left hand. The right arm is crooked and resting on the right hip, with the sleeve rolled up above the elbow. The face and hands are fairly well detailed. The joints where the fingers become the back of the left hand look natural, but past that point the work becomes perfunctory. The "V" where the eyelids meet is pronounced and individualized. There is a bit of chalkiness to the skin. We presume this is not due to dust, as the church is very well kept up. The garments seem to be polychrome. There is a great deal of gold, and it is very much a part of the patterns on the garments, but those patterns include large color masses, and there is none of the delicate cross-hatching seen in the better polychromes. The folds of the garments are understated, suggesting that they are formed from carved wood rather than stiffened cloth. Location: Far left of lowest tier of retablo of main altar.
Media and construction: Polychrome(?) Eyes: glass. Size: About 5½ feet (165 cm.)
Unidentified Saint This kneeling figure is bald and wears the kind of costume that in Hollywood films would suggest a grandee of Spain: sleeves puffed at the upper arms, a long outer garment. The face is lifelike and individualized, with a natural sheen and a look expressing some sort of perplexity. The hands, however, have a rubbery, re-done look. As with the statue to the left, the garments could conceivably be polychrome, but the color masses are even larger and less distinct. There is little flair to the folds of the garments, nor much realism in such details as the lining of the cape behind the boot, or the "silver" color of the boot itself. Location: In the lowest tier of the retablo, right of the monk described above and left of the central crucifix,.
Media and construction: Wood,
gesso, paint. Eyes: glass. Size: About 4 feet (120 cm.) Crucifix The skin is lifelike and the detailing realistic. (Note especially the muscles straining in the arms, their shape emphasized by trickles of blood that flow to the axillas from the nails in the hands.) The artist has provided enough blood flowing from the five wounds to remind the viewer of the story, but no more. As a whole, the Misericordia seems to be from a time later than the period we are studying.
Local name: El Señor de
la Misericordia. Media and construction: Wood,
gesso, paint, sculpted loincloth. Eyes: closed. Hair:
carved hair. Size: About 4½ feet
(135 cm.) Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla,
Santa Ana del
Valle1, Santa
Ana del Valle2, Santa Ana del
Valle3, Cuilapan,
Etla, Guelavia,
Mitla, Nochixtlán,
Tamazulapan1, Tamazulapan2,
Teitipac1,
Teitipac2,
Teitipac3,
Teotitlán1,
Teotitlán2, Teposcolula1,
Teposcolula2,
Teposcolula3
(in Rosary case), Teposcolula
Convento1, Teposcolula
Convento2, Tilantongo1,
Tilantongo2,
Tlacolula,
Xoxocotlán1, Xoxocotlán2, Xoxocotlán3, Xoxocotlán4, Yanhuitlán1, Yanhuitlán2, Yanhuitlán
Convento1, Yanhuitlán
Convento2, Yanhuitlán
Convento3, Yanhuitlán
Convento4, Yanhuitlán
Convento5, Yanhuitlán Ayuxi Chapel, Zimatlán. External Links: Christ at the Pillar
The figure is represented as fallen and prone on the ground, looking up in pain. The halo is a golden half circle set vertically behind the head. The face is of dark varnished wood, with a remarkable glow. Basis for identification: Halo, purple robe, whipping post.
Location: In the retablo of main altar, below the crucifix described above (behind the curtain in the photo above). Media and construction: Wood, varnish. Eyes: glass
eyes. Hair: wig. Size: about 4 feet (120 cm.) from head to toe. Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla,
Etla, Coixtlahuaca,
Huitzo. External Links:
Unidentified Nun
The habit is so ornately decorated that it is hard to tell what order it might represent. Like the other santos on the lowest tier, this figure's garments are decorated in large color-masses that do not seem consistent with true polychrome, yet the gold does not have the heavy, painted-on look of gilt. Basis for identification: Veil, wimple/bib.
Location: Far right of lowest tier of retablo of main altar. Media and construction: Glass eyes. Size: About 4½ feet (135 cm.)
Unidentified Saint
The figure reads from a book held in the right hand, forming a harmonious design with the figure at the opposite end of the retablo, whose book is in the left hand. As with the other statues on the first tier, it is hard to tell whether the garments are true polychrome. The face has an acceptable sheen and seems natural and individualized – shaped to look real but not to look "shaped." The mouth is finely sculpted. The hands show the bones of the fingers well down toward the wrist. Location: Right of the crucifix on the lowest tier of retablo of main altar. Media and construction: Glass eyes. Size: About 5½ feet (165 cm.) Three other santos were observed on the left side of the three upper tiers of the main altar, one in the middle of the upper section, and three on the right side of the 3 upper tiers of main altar. Introduction to Santa
María de la Navidad Tamazulapan
Photo: © Dr.
James Bartholomay Kiracofe, from Exploring Colonial
Mexico: The Retablo of Santa Maria de la
Natividad, Tamazulapan. |