Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient Churches

A 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 Tlacolula:

Christ: Ecce Homo
Christ in a coffin
Christ in the pretorium (Pensive Christ)
Crucifix 1
Crucifix 2
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of the Assumption
Palm Sunday Christ
St. Anthony of Padua
St. John the Evangelist
St. Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr)
Trinity

Other santos not photographed

St. Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr)

Saint Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr):
Sr. Jescas says there is no wood beneath the coarse linen and that the painted head, forearms (with hands), and feet are separate. These are of good quality and well preserved. The half-closed fingers of the raised right hand could once have held a palm. Blood flows from the wounds in the head and chest.

Local Name: San Pedro Mártir.

Basis for Identification: Beard, tonsure, Dominican habit, an axe in the head and a knife in the chest.

Site: Church of the Assumption, Tlacolula.

Location: On a shelf along the north wall of the east transept of the Calvary chapel (see note).

Media and construction: Wood, gesso, gessoed cloth, paint.

Size: About 4 feet 10 inches (147 cm.)

Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla, Santa Ana del Valle, Coixtlahuaca, Cuilapan, Etla, Huitzo, Diaz Ordaz, Teitipac, Tlacolula, Yanhuitlán.

External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Statues of St. Peter of Verona in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Peter of Verona
Wikipedia: Peter of Verona
Christian Iconography: St. Peter Martyr

Next:
Also in the east transept, a statue of Our Lady of the Assumption

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.