French Set of 14 Plaster Stations of the Cross, 1924

Dimensions: 42 ¾” H x 30” W x 5 ⅜” D

French early 20th century set of fourteen (14) Stations of the Cross high-relief plaster sculptures, that would have been commissioned for a cathedral in 1924. The custom of walking the Stations of the Cross goes back many centuries, when churches installed pictorial representations illustrating the sequence of events around Jesus’s crucifixion. Known as the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, for those who are unable to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land there would be these stations to help the faithful journey in spirit through prayer and hymn. Across the fourteen sculptures (Pope Clement XII standardized the number of stations to fourteen in 1731) one observes the devastating scenes rendered with both tenderness and geometric formality, accented in parcel gilt and the customary wood cross embedded in the text. Each station is inscribed by the artist “M. Chantrel” for Madeleine Nasouska-Chantrel (whose husband was notable architect Alfred Jacques Nasousky). The stations also include small brass plaques of gratitude for the patron who sponsored (paid for) them. Please view the detailed images to see the current condition. Sold as a set.