Church of the Precious Blood of Christ--page 2 (of two pages)

16th century; rebuilt? 17th century, according to Richard D. Perry



Left: south end of west front; center and right: south side

 

Angelic capitals

Here is another example of the fusion of Indian and European themes--here the angels have wings of turkey feathers (the turkey as an indigenous bird).
 

Views of the north side and dome

The wide buttress is very evident here.
 
 

Details of the towers--the north one with herm-like pilasters

 
 

Reliefs from the earlier Zapotec site, now embedded in the wall of the church

Center: a figure carrying something/making an offering;
right: geometric designs similar to those at Mitla.
 

Figures of male and female deities--the female identified by the triangular cloth, the male associated with the sun

 

The barrel-vaulted nave

Unlike the carvings at the entrance portal (probably original), this interior (later) is fairly typically European Christian, with evangelist symbols and events in Christ's life depicted in the dome.
 

Foliage motifs as "filler"

One has to go to Ravenna Italy (see the much earlier Orthodox Baptistry) to see foliage so colorful and sinuous.


Return to page 1.

Works consulted or quoted:
Richard D. Perry. Exploring Colonial Oaxaca. The Art and Architecture. Santa Barbara, CA: Espada Press, 2006.
Thanks as well to Florencio Moreno for his leadership and guiding on our tour. Any mistakes, however, are my own.


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© 2009 Mary Ann Sullivan. I have photographed (on site), scanned, and manipulated all the images on these pages. Please feel free to use them for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes.