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
St. Peter the Apostle
St. Peter the Apostle:
The graying hair, balding, ascetic look and triple cross are common emblems of St. Peter, but the figure does not carry keys. The fingers of the left hand are broken, revealing the layers of gesso and paint. Two of the teeth have been broken away. The face and hands have poor color, repainted long ago in an unrealistic pink that is now flaking off the hands. The hands are painted to about two inches past the wrist. The rest of the arms are painted in an indifferent color.

Local Name: San Pedro Apóstol.

Basis for Identification: Balding head. Triple cross (not visible in the photo).

Other characteristics: Gray hair and beard, a violet cape over a white robe.

Site: Church of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán.

Location: Right end of the second of the four retablos along the north wall of the nave (see note).

Media and construction: Wood, gesso, paint, fabric garments. Eyes: glass. Sculpted teeth.

Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Coixtlahuaca, Etla, Huitzo, Mitla, Díaz Ordaz, Tamazulapan, Teitipac1, Teitipac2, Teotitlán1, Teotitlán2, Teposcolula1, Teposcolula2, Yanhuitlán.

External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Statues of St. Peter in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles
Wikipedia: Saint Peter
Christian Iconography: Saint Peter the Apostle

Next: Moving ahead to the third retablo, we find an unidentified santo.

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.