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 the church of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán:

Christ carrying the Cross
Christ Child
Christ Child (with Crucifix 1)
Christ seated in the pretorium ("Pensive Christ")
Crucifix 1
Crucifix 2
Main altar
Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Sorrows
Palm Sunday Christ
St. Dominic 1
St. Dominic 2
St. Michael
St. Michael (with Crucifix 1)
St. Peter
St. Raphael (with Crucifix 1)
St. Sebastian
Soledad (?)
Trinity 1
Trinity 2
Unidentified Dominican nun

Unidentified Franciscan
Unidentified saint 1
Unidentified saint 2 (Christopher?)
Unidentified saint 3
Virgin Mary 1
Virgin Mary 2

Other santos not photographed

Tour of the Museum
Tour of the Ayuxi Chapel
Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe:
The Virgin stands straight, looking down, hands joined in prayer at the chest. In the hands is a large silk rose. The face and hands have an adequate sheen. Polychrome sleeves show under the fabric mantle. The kneeling peasant, in front of the statue is Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin.

Local Name: La Virgen de Guadalupe.

Basis for Identification: Blue mantle, red robe, praying hands, kneeling figure in peasant garb.

Site: Church of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán.

Location: Glass case centered in the second of the four retablos along the north wall of the nave (see note).

Media and construction (Virgin): Polychrome and cloth. Eyes: glass. Hair: sculpted. Closed mouth.

Media and construction (St. Juan Diego): Plaster.

Size: 43 inches (109 cm.)

Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Tlaxiaco.

External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Reproductions of the Juan Diego Image
Wikipedia: Our Lady of Guadalupe

Next: On the same retablo, a statue of St. Peter

Previous santo

Introduction to the church at Yanhuitlán

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.) 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.




Photo: Location: .

Next santo

Previous santo

Introduction to the Yanhuitlán church