Passion Facade

It is located on Sardenya Street, facing west. It represents the passion and death of Jesus Christ.

The first stone of this façade was laid in 1954, almost 30 years after Gaudí's death. Three more years would pass before the work really began to be carried out under the direction of his disciple, the architect Francesc de Paula Quintana. The sculptural work and the access doors are the work of the sculptor Josep Mª Subirachs.

Formed by six inclined columns, they support a cornice that overhangs it. It gives access to the interior of the Temple through three doors located between the four bell towers.

The set is a spectacular sculptural staging of the Passion and death of Jesus. Gaudí even commented on this façade: “I would like it to be scary and to achieve this I will not skimp on chiaroscuro, protruding and hollowed-out elements, in fact, I would be willing to break arches, cut columns... "In order to give an idea of how bloody the Sacrifice was." However, as he had not reached a sufficient level of detail, the sculptor Josep Mª Subirachs, with his very personal style, has been in charge of interpreting Gaudí's wishes.

The façade contains 13 scenes and more than 100 sculptures spread over three levels, which follow the ascending sculpted story in the shape of an S, from left to right, where the key moments of the last days of the life of Jesus Christ occur chronologically. the cruelty and suffering of his last hours.