GRATALOUP’S WAY OF THE CROSS
The Fourteen Stations
Colors and Symbols
1985, He Dies on the Cross
130 × 162 cm
Mixed media on canvas
FROM A LANDSCAPE TO THE WAY OF THE CROSS
1975, Preparatory Drawing for the Way of the Cross — Sceautre
55 × 65 cm
Graphite on paper
In 1975, in Sceautre, Ardèche, GRATALOUP drew the black basalt outcrop on which the village was built. Once a site of pagan worship, the rock later became home to a Calvary that has since disappeared, although sections of its iron railings still remained.
GRATALOUP was struck by this mineral landscape of prisms, fractures, and lines.
The Way of the Cross emerged from this drawing. GRATALOUP began work on the fourteen Stations and devoted ten years to the series, from 1975 to 1985. Far removed from a literal depiction of the Passion, his interpretation unfolds through his own pictorial language: forms, folds, tears, textures, colors, and symbols.
THE FORMAL INVENTION OF THE WAY OF THE CROSS
1985
He Falls for the First Time — Third Station
He Falls for the Second Time — Seventh Station
He Falls for the Third Time — Ninth Station
130 × 162 cm
Mixed media on canvas
The rock of Sceautre becomes Golgotha.
Using the original form of the rock as his starting point, GRATALOUP conceived the fourteen Stations as a succession of transformations. Folds, tears, and mounted paper contribute directly to the narrative. The materials themselves convey tension and accompany the dramatic progression of the Passion.
“For each Station, the paper will play its part as an ‘amplifier’ of dramatic effect.”
— GRATALOUP
THE FOURTEEN STATIONS: COLORS AND SYMBOLS
The explanations left by GRATALOUP reveal, Station by Station, the forms, colors, and symbols that structure his Way of the Cross.
Brought together in an audio tour, these explanations accompany visitors as they explore the fourteen artworks and trace the gradual transformation of GRATALOUP’s pictorial language throughout the Passion. A fifteenth stage, devoted to the Resurrection, extends the journey without adding another artwork: it is represented by the same canvas as the twelfth Station.
A WORK IN MOTION
2002
Pitié-Salpêtrière Chapel — Paris
2003
Chapel of the Trinity — Lyon
2022
Saint Martin’s Church — Chevreuse
Completed in 1985 after ten years of creation, GRATALOUP’s Way of the Cross has been presented on several occasions in monumental venues across France and Germany.
With each exhibition, the fourteen Stations enter into dialogue with the architecture and invite visitors on a true journey.
1991
Saint Martin’s Church
Chevreuse
1992
Saint Louis Cathedral
Versailles
2002
Pitié-Salpêtrière Chapel
Paris
2003
Chapel of the Trinity
Lyon
2006
Bayer Leverkusen, Germany
2022
Saint Martin’s Church
Chevreuse
2027
Saint Peter’s Cathedral
Troyes
HOST GRATALOUP’S WAY OF THE CROSS
Each installation is conceived in dialogue with the host venue, its architecture, and the conditions in which visitors will experience the work. The fourteen artworks can thus recreate the sense of journey envisioned by GRATALOUP within a cathedral, church, abbey, or other heritage site.
14 Stations
A series created between 1975 and 1985
Framed Artworks
Ready to be presented in a new venue
Adaptable Exhibition Design
A layout developed to suit the architecture of each venue
Audio Tour
A Station-by-Station interpretation of the artworks