Christ in the Pretorium (Pensive Christ):
The crown is woven of hair and silver
into the basketweave pattern. The feet are burnished by
the repeated rubbing of the faithful. Sr. Jescas says it is
solid wood. The figure wears white cotton bloomers, a red
velvet loincloth, and a red velvet cape. On the bloomers
and the lower part of the loincloth the faithful have
pinned scores of votive photographs, amulets, and other
objects. The artist has expressed depression and
loneliness more than physical agony. The treatment of the
blood is perfunctory and what most strikes the viewer is
the spiritual exhaustion in the gaze. The resulting
emotional power of the figure may explain its popularity
among those seeking healing.
Local
Name: El Dios de la Peña.
Basis for Identification: Seated
with the head on the right palm, right elbow on the
knee, mock scepter, crown of thorns, red loincloth and
cape.
Other characteristics: White
bloomers.
Site: Church of the
Assumption, Tlacolula.
Location: West end
of the transept of the Chapel (see note).
Media and construction: Wood,
gesso, paint, fabric garments. Eyes: glass eyes. Hair:
wig.
Size: 3 feet 9 inches feet (115 cm.)
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Ejutla, Etla, Guelavia,
Tamazulapan, Teitipac1,
Teitipac2,
Teposcolula,
Tilantongo, Yanhuitlán.
External Links:
The episode of the
scourging and mockery of Jesus in the pretorium is in Mark
15:16-20.
Wikimedia Commons: Statues
of the Man of Sorrows.
Next: Also in the west transept, a Palm Sunday Christ
Previous santo
Introduction
to Tlacolula
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.)
In the
case of the Chapel of the Lord of Tlacolula, which is
at right angles to the south wall of the church, the
altar is thus at the south end and the transept (the
two wings that give the building the shape of a cross)
comprises an east and west 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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