Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient Churches
A study of santos in 16th-century and other churches in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Claire and Richard Stracke. Funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.
Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient ChurchesA study of santos in 16th-century and other churches in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Claire and Richard Stracke. Funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. |
La Virgen del Carmen |
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La Virgen del Carmen (Christ Child, scapulars, lily in Virgin's right hand, crowns; purple bib, gold lamé cape, white robe).
Wood, gesso, paint; both figures have glass eyes, lashes, wigs; fabric garments; metal crowns; 4½'. This Carmen is unusual. The bib is purple and the cape is gold lamé; elsewhere, the Carmen's bib and garments tend to be uniformly brown. The wigs are long, blond, and heavily crimped; they seem new. On the bib and the Virgin's scapular is a crowned M monogram, similar to those commonly found in lintels in Oaxacan religious buildings. The skin of the face and hands of both figures has an artificial, even rubbery, quality. Behind the full crown on the Virgin figure is a large sunburst diadem; the child figure has a cruciform halo. Our informant relates that the figure is carried around the pasos and up the mountain every July 16 to her capilli-ta, where it remains for a week to be visited by the faithful. Location: East end of the north wall of the nave. |