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 Teotitlán del
Valle: Christ
Child |
St. John the Evangelist |
Saint John the Evangelist The figure wears a white robe. The right hand has been tied to the torso so that the chalice can be held forth, and the chalice is tied to the hand. The left hand hangs loosely at the side. On the right arm, blue paint is visible above the flesh-colored wrist. The right hand is badly damaged, with stumps of fingers remaining. Reddish wood can be seen in the breaks. The head looks upward, set at a strange angle.
Local Name: San Juan Evangelista. Basis for Identification: Chalice in right hand, goatee and moustache. Other characteristics: White robe, white tasseled stole fringed in gold. Site: Church of Santa María
de la Natividad (Preciosa Sangre de Cristo),
Teotitlán del Valle. Location: Right end of the retablo of the first large altar along the south wall of the nave (see note). Media and construction: Frame
body, fabric garment.
Wood, gesso, paint (face and hands). Eyes: glass. Hair:
carved. Size: About 4½
feet (135 cm.) Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Ejutla, Huitzo, Mitla (Calvary grouping), Ocotlán, Teposcolula, Tlacolula. External Links: Next:
Moving to the right, we find a small altar with a statue of St. Francis
of Assisi. Introduction to Teotitlán del
Valle 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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