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Saturday, October 12, 2019

San Sebastian in Mexican art 2.

Our first post on St. Sebastian reviewed some of his portraits in early Mexican murals; the second deals with the depictions of the saint in three dimensional images.
   Three dimensional images of San Sebastian are found in facade sculptures and reliefs, usually of stone or stucco, or in altarpieces, where they are carved from wood or other plant based materials.

   In almost all cases the iconography is the same: the saint is posed naked except for a loin cloth, tied to a tree or post and transfixed by arrows, often with one arm raised. 
   In the majority of these images no bowmen are present, and especially in stone statues, few arrows are generally shown, often just indicated by pierced holes in the body.
   Below we show a variety of stone and wooden statuary in colonial contexts:
  
Concordia, Sinaloa;                                      San Sebastianito, Jalisco
San Sebastián Analco, Oaxaca
Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco
  
San Bernardino Xochimilco;                         Santa Prisca de Taxco

  
Pazulco, Morelos

< Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas
Achiutla, Oaxaca
text and graphics © 2019 Richard D. Perry
images by the author and from online sources.

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