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 |
Palm Sunday Christ |
Palm Sunday Christ: It is difficult to gauge the quality of the original artistry because the statue has deteriorated severely. Nevertheless, on the inside of the right sleeve the lush colors and bold detailing of the flowered polychrome suggest the high quality of the statue when it was new. The figure sits with the left foot extended confidently forward. Today the face has lost most of the detailing and some of the paint. The right hand is decayed, the right foot is rotten, and the ass has deteriorated. The palm branch is made of modern aluminum foil.
Basis for Identification: Ass, red fabric cape over polychrome robes, palm branch, no wounds. Site: Church of Santa María
de la Natividad (Preciosa Sangre de Cristo),
Teotitlán del Valle. Location: Left of the first altar along the south wall of the narthex (see note). Media and construction: Polychrome, fabric cape. Eyes: glass eyes. Hair: carved. Size: About 4 feet (120 cm.) Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Santa Ana del
Valle, Cuilapan,
Mitla, Ocotlán, Díaz
Ordaz, Tamazulapan,
Teitipac, Teposcolula,
Tlacolula, Yanhuitlán. External Link: Next:
Moving inside to the north wall of the nave, we find a statue of St. Hyacinth. 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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