Central European school, ca. 1860. Marble Stations of the Cross

Central European school, ca. 1860.
Set of fourteen reliefs of the Stations of the Cross, ca. 1860. made for the iron church of Notre-Dame d'Argenteuil (Belgium).
Reliefs in white Carrara marble.
Each piece framed in two-tone marble molding.
Measurements:
40 × 35 cm (relief); 46 × 41 cm (frame); 60 × 50 cm (base, vertical format).
35 × 40 cm (relief); 41 × 46 cm (frame); 50 × 60 cm (base, horizontal format).

Important sculptural ensemble composed of fourteen reliefs in white Carrara marble, corresponding to a complete Stations of the Cross, made around 1860 for the iron church of Notre-Dame d'Argenteuil, in Belgium. This building, now disappeared, was one of the earliest and most singular examples of 19th century metallic religious architecture and was promoted by Count Ferdinand-Philippe de Meeûs, one of the most influential figures of Belgian artistic patronage of his time.

The ensemble stands out in an exceptional way for its iconographic approach, since the Stations of the Cross are not developed through conventional narrative scenes, but through representations of Christ's face, shown in different attitudes, inclinations and expressive states. Each station is identified by symbolic attributes and a psychological and spiritual progression, in a solution of great devotional intensity and remarkable originality, far from traditional figurative models.
From the formal point of view, the reliefs present a refined and sensitive modeling, with special attention to the anatomy of the face, the treatment of the hair and beard, and a careful transition of planes that provides depth and spiritual recollection. The quality of the marble and the technical execution are evidence of a high-level commission, consistent with the ambitious artistic program developed for the church of Argenteuil, which also housed works by prominent contemporary artists.
In terms of its stylistic characteristics, the ensemble belongs to the Central European religious sculpture of the mid-19th century, within the context of neo-Gothic, a language widely diffused in Belgium and the surrounding territories in that period. The formal and expressive unity of the fourteen pieces reveals the work of the same workshop or artistic environment, specialized in monumental commissions of a devotional nature.

After the demolition of the iron church in 1941, the Stations of the Cross were moved to the new church built on the same site, at which time the original neo-Gothic wooden frames were replaced by the present two-color marble moldings, the reliefs remaining intact.

The de Meeûs family played a central role as a great patron of art and religious architecture in Belgium during the 19th century, promoting numerous monumental projects. This Stations of the Cross should be understood as part of that context of enlightened and ambitious patronage, which gives the set a remarkable historical, artistic and patrimonial interest, as well as an extraordinary coherence as a complete series.