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 the church of Santo
Domingo Yanhuitlán: Christ
carrying the Cross Tour of the Ayuxi Chapel |
Christ Seated in the
Pretorium ("Pensive Christ") |
Christ seated in the Pretorium ("Pensive Christ"): The long face has a Chinese cast to the eyes. It would seem that the hands and the left foot have been recast. They are proportional, but have none of the details and delicacy of construction that does the rest of the figure. The figure wears pantaloons of ribboned lace which may hide a polychrome loincloth. The left hand seems to be made to hold a staff, but it is empty. The figure sits on a very simple wooden block. Cushions have been placed under the feet. Local Name: El Dios de la
Peña. Basis for Identification: Seated
in lace trousers and red velvet cape.
Crown of thorns, streaming blood, head
resting on right hand. Around the neck a tasseled cord,
knotted at mid-torso. Site: Church of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán. Location: On a rough wooden step, on a pillar to the right of the entry into the chapel off the east end of the south nave (see note). Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint, fabric garments (velvet cape). Eyes: glass. Hair: wig. Closed mouth. Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Ejutla, Etla, Guelavia, Tamazulapan, Teitipac1, Teitipac2, Teposcolula, Tilantongo, Tlacolula, Yanhuitlán. External Links: Previous santo Introduction to the church at Yanhuitlán 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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