Virgin and Child:
The Virgin is one of the most beautiful we
have seen. Beneath an ancient wig, the original face is of
a young woman, intelligent, patient, and filled with
sadness. She has wide-set eyes and a long nose and thin
lips. The child is so voluminous as to hide much of the
Virgin's upper body. She wears a carved gold tunic under a
red polychromed robe. An ample blue and gold mantle is
wrapped from the left hip and around the front to be
caught up over the left arm. The right hand is upraised,
index finger touching the thumb in benediction. A white
pearl necklace is looped through the hand. The strong left
hand can be seen gripping the child.
The glass case in which she stands is decorated at its
sides with a shell pattern above a geometric design of
x's and waves. Behind the Virgin's head is a
flower-shaped medallion that encloses a cross. Directly
beneath it is a carved the Omega in which is set another
cross.
The Christ Child is modern doll of the kicking-baby
kind used in Church creches. It has molded hair, glass
eyes, and an open mouth. It is dressed in a white robe
trimmed in lace and what appears to be an embroidered
sheepskin vest (East of Turkey?) or coatlet which serves
as a mantle. On the feet are baby socks and gold
sandals. A Mexican silver coin has been tied to the left
hand with an intricate knot and arrangement of threads.
The halo is a rhinestoned sunburst.
Site: Church of Santo
Domingo Díaz Ordaz.
Location: Southeast
corner of the nave (see note).
Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Coixtlahuaca, Coixtlahuaca2,
Cuilapan,
Guelavia,
Huitzo, Zimatlán.
External Links:
Wikimedia Commons:
Statues
of
Virgin Mary in Mexico
Christian Iconography: The Madonna and Child
Next: In
the same area, another statue
of the Virgin and Child
Previous santo
Introduction to Santo Domingo
Díaz Ordaz
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.
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