Sagrada Familia Lion - Barcelona, Spain
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N 41° 24.205 E 002° 10.425
31T E 430936 N 4583871
This lion can be seen on the passion facade of the Sagrada Familia. In 1987 a team of sculptors, headed by Josep Maria Subirachs, began work sculpting the various scenes and details of the facade.
Waymark Code: WMQF10
Location: Cataluña, Spain
Date Posted: 02/18/2016
Views: 16
The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (English: Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family) is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI consecrated and proclaimed it a minor basilica.
In contrast to the highly decorated Nativity Facade, the Passion Facade is austere, plain and simple, with ample bare stone, and is carved with harsh straight lines to resemble the bones of a skeleton. Dedicated to the Passion of Christ, the suffering of Jesus during his crucifixion, the facade was intended to portray the sins of man. Construction began in 1954, following the drawings and instructions left by Gaudí for future architects and sculptors. The towers were completed in 1976, and in 1987 a team of sculptors, headed by Josep Maria Subirachs, began work sculpting the various scenes and details of the facade. They aimed to give a rigid, angular form to provoke a dramatic effect. Gaudí intended for this facade to strike fear into the onlooker. He wanted to "break" arcs and "cut" columns, and to use the effect of chiaroscuro (dark angular shadows contrasted by harsh rigid light) to further show the severity and brutality of Christ's sacrifice.
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