I took the photo in the church of Santa María Salomé in Santiago. I carelessly forgot to make a note of any details. I did a google reverse image search and found an almost identical photo, claiming that this figure was San Julián. On fundacionjacobea.org, I found this: "In the interior [of the church of Santa María Salomé] there is a small chapel next to the presbytery, dedicated to Our Lady and San Joseph, with a vault of the XVI century whose nerves are supported by Renaissance-style corbels. The chapel is presided over by a baroque altarpiece of stipes from the second half of the 18th century dedicated to San Julián. This altarpiece always contains an anecdotal detail: between multiple faces carved in relief and gold, some with aquiline nose and Aztec features, there are two faces of angels wearing spectacles."
I am confused that a chapel dedicated to Our Lady and Saint Joseph (or San José) should have an altarpiece presided over by neither of them, but by San Julián. Let that pass, for now. No description of the saint is offered, but the interweb can supply a 4th-century parricide, known as St Julian the Hospitaller, sometimes represented as "a young man holding a hawk on his finger". There are 12 other canonised Julians, but I doubt that there is another known for carrying a bird on his finger. Those aren't the clothes of a 4th-century gentleman. I'm no ornithologist, but that bird looks more like a dove than a hawk, and ¿don't people hunting with hawks usually have them on their forearm, protected by a leather sleeve, or gauntlet? The story of St Julian does not involve hunting with a hawk. And in his right hand he is holding a blue stick – it looks like a conductor's baton.
In case you are not familiar with 'stipes' (singular, plural 'stipites'), I'll save you the trouble of googling it: it's the vertical beam of a cross used for crucifixion. It looks as though fundacionjacobea.org think 'stipes' is plural.
Can anyone explain the 'hawk', the blue baton, or the clothes?
I am confused that a chapel dedicated to Our Lady and Saint Joseph (or San José) should have an altarpiece presided over by neither of them, but by San Julián. Let that pass, for now. No description of the saint is offered, but the interweb can supply a 4th-century parricide, known as St Julian the Hospitaller, sometimes represented as "a young man holding a hawk on his finger". There are 12 other canonised Julians, but I doubt that there is another known for carrying a bird on his finger. Those aren't the clothes of a 4th-century gentleman. I'm no ornithologist, but that bird looks more like a dove than a hawk, and ¿don't people hunting with hawks usually have them on their forearm, protected by a leather sleeve, or gauntlet? The story of St Julian does not involve hunting with a hawk. And in his right hand he is holding a blue stick – it looks like a conductor's baton.
In case you are not familiar with 'stipes' (singular, plural 'stipites'), I'll save you the trouble of googling it: it's the vertical beam of a cross used for crucifixion. It looks as though fundacionjacobea.org think 'stipes' is plural.
Can anyone explain the 'hawk', the blue baton, or the clothes?
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