The portico of the Passion Façade at the Sagrada Família is an austere stage where stone, light and shadow narrate the final hours of Christ. Its angular volumes, hard lines and sharp edges deliberately contrast with the softness of the Nativity side, underlining the pain and drama of the scene.
Work on this part of the temple began in 1954, and the sculptures by Josep Maria Subirachs push Gaudí’s language toward a modern, almost cubist severity that feels strikingly contemporary when compared with the earlier, exuberant carvings of the Nativity Façade. As a modest sample of all that can be discovered here, this engraved metal gate is covered with raised letters and symbols, including a passage from Matthew 26:39, so visitors literally “read” the Gospel as they pass through the portal.
