This set of Stations of the Cross scenes on the walls of the chapel at St. Paul Student Center, Madison, depicts, as so often in sacred art, Jesus' journey to Calvary.
This model was designed and developed by the award-winning sculptor Julio Vicent Mengual (1891 - 1940) who developed part of his artistic career with the founder of the workshop, the priest Don Felix Granda. The work represents the fourteen scenes of the Way of the Cross in large size, executed in high relief.
In spite of its large size, the unit does not feel heavy, thanks to the balance provided by the density of the figures, textures, hard contours and the modeling of the shapes. All this endows the work with a high emotional charge that lightens the perception of its large dimensions.
The work is influenced by the way in which Michelangelo represented the human body, placing emphasis on the physiognomy in tension of the figuresreflecting with it a deep spiritual experience, as well as the inner turmoil of the characters. that intervene in scenes impregnated with physical pain and spiritual suffering.
Julio Vicent Mengual, author of this Via Crucis, was an accomplished artist who left great works of sacred art. His creative output for Granda Art Workshops includes the design and execution of the Sepulcher of San Juan de la Cruz in Segovia, an altarpiece for a community of nuns in Madrid, reliefs with scenes from the life of Bernardo de Hoyos for the Church of San Esteban in Valladolid, and a beautiful statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for the Church of Santa Teresa in Madrid.
