Oaxaca. San Bartolo Soyaltepec 2: The Altarpieces.

 San Bartolo Soyaltepec, the nave

Several gilded altarpieces line the nave on either side, the majority unrestored.  Most date from the later 1700s.  One that has been recently restored is that of El Rosario on the north side. 

Rosario iconography:

1 La Anunciación   2 La Inmaculada Concepción   3 Los Desposorios de la Virgen

4 La presentación de Jesús en el templo  5 La Epifanía (Adoración de los Reyes Magos) 

6 La Visitación de la Virgen a Santa Isabel   7 La Virgen de los Dolores

(Jesús descendido de la cruz en el regazo de la Virgen)

8 Santa Ana   9 San Joaquín

Dated 1788 it is framed in classic Oaxacan baroque style with helical columns and pilasters densely carved with entwined foliage, and projecting cornices hung with spindles. Passages of foliated gold relief fill the intervening spaces.

   Apart from the two fine statues of San José and The Virgin of the Rosary in the center niches, the remaining images are all paintings, dedicated to episodes in the life of the Virgin.

Among the other retablos, that of San Miguel stands out with its original bescrolled caryatid supports.

Another colonial artifact inside the church is the 18th century table organ case, a reminder of the importance of music at Soyaltepec and throughout Oaxaca in colonial times.

Source: Dirección de la Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova: 

text © 2019 Richard D Perry

images © Felipe Falcón, Fidel Ugarte Liévana, Gibrán Morales Carranza, & José Luis Cruz.
see our recent Oaxaca posts: Yautepec; Tixá; Yatzachi el Alto; San Juan Tabaá; Zoochila;