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 |
St. Dominic Grouping |
St.
Dominic Grouping
Site: Church of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán. Location: The first retablo past the portal in the south wall of the nave.
Above: Saint Dominic The statue is in excellent condition. The face is
square with high cheekbones and the thin, arched
eyebrows so often seen in the Oaxaca saints. The body is
rigid and there is no delineation of the limbs. The
habit is black and white polychrome in a restrained
pattern of carefully balanced flowers. The two books in
the left hand are tied together with a white ribbon. The
martyr's palm is a real one, almost as big as the santo.
Local Name: Santo Domingo Other characteristics: A large palm branch, usually an indication of martyrdom but St. Dominic was not a martyr. When the saint is shown with a book in the right hand he often holds a staff in the other, so perhaps the palm branch has been substituted for an original staff. Media and construction: Polychrome. Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Teotitlán (St. Peter?), Teposcolula (Our Lady of the Rosary case), Yanhuitlan (Church) 2, Yanhuitlán (Museum) External Links:Wikimedia Commons: Statues of St. Dominic in Mexico Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Dominic Wikipedia: Saint Dominic Christian Iconography: Saint Dominic Left Front: Unidentified Friar The head is of good quality and is in good repair. The
Saint has no hands. The frame body is covered in a gold
brocade robe and a white undergarment.
Location: On an undecorated stone altar in front of the statue of St. Dominic. Media and construction: Carved and gessoed head on frame. Size: About 5 feet (150 cm.) Right Front: St. Nicholas Factor The saint was identified as "San Nicolas" in San Pedro Diaz-Ordaz. The black and gold polychrome robe is draped around the hips of the saint. He holds a rope in the left hand and is whipping himself. The right hand is held up in front of him at the left shoulder. The fingers are shaped so that they might also have held a whip. Plaster is chipped from the left shoulder. Parts of the statue have been repainted. Local Name: San Nicolás.Basis for Identification: Tonsured, kneeling flagellant. Media and construction: Polychrome. Size: About 3 feet (90 cm.) Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Díaz
Ordaz (no photograph), Guelavia,
Teitipac,
Yanhuitlán
(in Dominic group), Zaachila1,
Zaachila2. External Links: Saint in Fire Our field notes record a fourth santo at this altar, a tonsured figure with the arms folded before the chest, in an octagonal vessel of fire. Next: Other santos
not photographed Previous santo 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. |