Maybe your parish has wooden engravings of them lining the pews. Or perhaps they’re small mosaics along the back wall of the sanctuary or sculptures in the church garden. Either way, the 14 Stations of the Cross you’re familiar with are lifelike portraits of the Passion of Christ, from his condemnation to death to the laying of his body in the tomb.
Developed in the 15th and 16th centuries by Franciscans, the Stations of the Cross were an invitation to journey alongside Jesus in his suffering, both spiritually and physically, even if on a small scale, from one station to the next.
Mid-century American artist Barnett Newman offers us a different take on the Stations: 14 abstract paintings he created over the course of eight years, with an enigmatic 15 added at the end of the series. Aside from the final painting, with its wild streak of red, all of the canvases are in stark black and white. They invite our contemplation of the question Barnett kept front and center while creating them, Jesus’ last words on the cross “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Barnett’s Stations are a less of a narrative representation of the last days of Christ, to which we are accustomed, and more of a meditation on the unanswerable philosophical question of suffering. As human beings, it’s a question that’s relevant to us all, but never more than during Lent, when we also turn our gaze to those who are suffering around us. Perhaps these modern Stations will lead you to unexpected places in your journey of prayer.
You can make a virtual pilgrimage through Newman’s Stations here or on the website of the National Gallery in Washington, DC, where the stations are on permanent display.
Read more: “Barnett Newman’s ‘Stations of the Cross’ Draws Pilgrims to the National Gallery” by Phillip Kennicott
Top image: First Station and Second Station, Barnett Newman, public domain