The sculptures, magnificently created by Subirachs, are endowed with great emotional intensity, and are placed along an S-shaped path from the lower left, representing the path that led Jesus to Calvary. At this point, the sculptor, still following my original idea, adapted the project to new concepts of modernity, as the placement that I had arranged was more horizontal. With this, following the S line, we find the following sculptural ensembles along the Via Crucis: The Last Supper where Jesus foretells his death and resurrection giving the sacrament of his body and blood; Pedro and the soldiers; The Kiss of Judas; Peter's denial where three women symbolize the three times Peter denied knowing Jesus, who appears covered by a sheet as a metaphor for the denial; Ecce Homo where Jesus is scourged and presented to the people wearing a crown of thorns; The trial of Jesus where Pilate washes his hands to avoid deciding the fate of Jesus; The three Marys and Simon where Jesus carrying the cross falls and Simon helps him up again; Veronica and the Evangelist where the sculptor honors me by representing me as the evangelist who will chronicle the death of Jesus; The soldiers play dice for Jesus' clothing, Crucifixion and death of Jesus, The faith of the centurion and concluding with Jesus being taken down from the cross.
As you may have realized, this façade does not have any decorative ornaments that give liveliness and joy to this part of the temple. On the contrary, we see very simple shapes that further highlight the sculptures of the Via Crucis, with the intention of emphasizing the sense of loss and the idea of sacrifice. The artists have also incorporated materials and designs that reinforce this idea, which gives me great satisfaction. Several examples are found in the Crucifixion of Jesus where the sculptor ingeniously placed a black iron cross that starkly contrasts with the stone body of Jesus, in addition to nailing it horizontally instead of vertically, to emphasize the idea that Jesus was hung on the cross; and in The Kiss of Judas, where in turn, a cube appears with different numbers represented that always add up to thirty-three, the age of Christ when he died.
Photo 047 Sagrada Família, façana de la Passió, Pilat rentant-se les mans by Enfo is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
