“Santos populares”, wooden sculptures

A colonial inheritance in republican Chile

By Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes

Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes

Shepherd figure (1780/1900) by Unknown, ChileMuseo de Artes Universidad de los Andes

Introduction

The Museo de Artes of the Universidad de los Andes holds and values ​​the Holtz-Kahni Collection that consists of 56 small format wooden carved and polychromed sculptures. The pieces measure between 20 and 40 cm high or up to 78 cm, in the case of crucifixes. These images known in Chile as "santos populares”, were carved throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth and even early twentieth centuries by anonymous craftsmen, "santeros", without specialized or academic training. 

Figure of an angel (1780/1900) by Unknown, ChileMuseo de Artes Universidad de los Andes

Angels and saints

These religious objects -saints or shepherds figures- like this angel with lost wings, were produced in the central zone of Chile and exhibit both Hispanic and indigenous roots, because of a cultural-religious syncretism.

Figure of female saint (unidentified), Unknown, Chile, 1780/1900, From the collection of: Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes
Show lessRead more

Many representations of these figures, like this female saint, are unidentified because of lack of attributes.

Figure of a female saint (possibly: Our Lady of Sorrows) (1780/1900) by Unknown, ChileMuseo de Artes Universidad de los Andes

A figure to be dressed: characteristic of this typology is that the polychromy only covers what is necessary, in this case, the head with its carefully painted eyes, and the neck.

Figure of female saint (unidentified), Unknown, Chile, 1780/1900, From the collection of: Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes
Show lessRead more
Figure of female saint (possibly Saint Clare of Assisi), Unknown, Chile, 1780/1900, From the collection of: Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes
Show lessRead more

The iconographic representations of these figures do not always present exact attributes, which is due to the fact that the "santeros" did not have a rigid artistic formation.

Saint Joseph, Unknown, Chile, 1780/1900, From the collection of: Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes
Show lessRead more
Saint Anthony of Padua, Unknown, Chile, 1780/1900, From the collection of: Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes
Show lessRead more

Christ Crucified (1780/1900) by Unknown, ChileMuseo de Artes Universidad de los Andes

Images of Christ

The set from the Holtz-Kahni collection includes crucifixes or figures of Christ with or without His cross. These were lost over the years as well as the loss of heads, crowns of thorns or their arms.

Sacred Heart of Jesus (1800/1900) by Unknown, ChileMuseo de Artes Universidad de los Andes

Christ on the column of the Flagellation, Unknown, Chile, Around 1800-1900, From the collection of: Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes
Show lessRead more

Characteristic in these figures is a rustic carving and the use of thick polychromies. Here, another technique was also applied: by modeling the arms with maguey paste, a plant also known as agave.

Figure of Christ Crucified, Unknown, Chile, Around 1780 and 1900, From the collection of: Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes
Show lessRead more

Figure of Christ Crucified (1780/1900) by Unknown, ChileMuseo de Artes Universidad de los Andes

These small sculptures were intended to meet a demand of private piety, in houses and small chapels.

Figure of Christ Crucified (1780/1900) by Unknown, ChileMuseo de Artes Universidad de los Andes

Figure of Christ Crucified, Unknown, Chile, 1780/1900, From the collection of: Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes
Show lessRead more

The production of this type of figures was abundant from the eighteenth century, however, during the twentieth these pieces were little valued, which led to be eliminated.

Figure of Christ Crucified (1780/1900) by Unknown, ChileMuseo de Artes Universidad de los Andes

This colonial influence lasts throughout the nineteenth century, until the aesthetic religious sensitivity changes to a most polished and classicist one, resulting a refuse toward the "santos populares" and restricted to a peasant religious context, away from the sophistication of the city and the intellectual elite of French or Italian taste.

Credits: Story

Museo de Artes Universidad de los Andes
Monseñor Álvaro del Portillo 12455
Las Condes
Santiago 762001
Phone: 56-2-26181152
Mail: museodeartes@uandes.cl
WEB: www.uandes.cl/ma

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites