This Lent, pilgrims and visitors to St. Peter’s Basilica will find themselves face-to-face with a remarkable artistic and spiritual experience: the 14 Stations of the Cross painted by Italian artist Gaetano Previati (1852-1920).
In 2022, St. Peter’s Basilica displayed the series — which is typically housed in the Vatican Museums — for the first time as part of its Lenten observances. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, OFM Conv, Vicar General of His Holiness for Vatican City, Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter, and President of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, saw the potential for these paintings to be more than museum pieces.
“The hope that does not disappoint (cf. Rm 5:5), the central message of the Jubilee, is for us the horizon of the Lenten journey toward the Easter victory,” said Cardinal Gambetti in a statement. “As Pope Benedict XVI taught us in the Encyclical Spe Salvi, ‘The human being needs unconditional love.'”
“Previati’s Via Crucis allows us to contemplate the mysteries of Jesus’ Passion and accompanies us on our journey of immersion into God’s unconditional love for us,” explained Gambetti.
A visionary approach to the Passion
Previati, a pioneer of the Divisionist movement in Italy, completed his Via Crucis series between 1901 and 1902. Unlike traditional religious paintings that relied on realism, his work embraced a radical new technique: layering fine filaments of color to create glowing, almost ethereal compositions. His goal was to depict Christ’s suffering in a way that transcended mere historical representation, instead immersing the viewer in an emotional and spiritual journey.
Previati’s 14 canvases are dominated by deep reds and swirling brushstrokes, lending an almost dreamlike quality to the Passion scenes. Christ’s garments blaze like fire against darkening skies, and the figures surrounding him — Mary, Veronica and Simon of Cyrene — appear as silhouettes, their faces turned toward Christ in grief and devotion. Rather than focusing on physical suffering, Previati emphasized the weight of Christ’s sacrifice and the light of charity breaking through the darkness.
From obscurity to the Vatican
Previati created his Via Crucis without a commission, purely as a personal act of faith. When the paintings debuted at the 1902 Turin Quadrennial, their avant-garde style unsettled critics and viewers alike. Many expected a traditional rendering of the Passion; instead, they were met with a challenge to conventional religious art.
Despite initial resistance, the cycle gained recognition over time, and in the 1960s, the Vatican acquired the series for its growing Collection of Modern Religious Art. The paintings were formally added to the Vatican Museums in 1973, joining works by other modern masters like Van Gogh, Gauguin and Chagall.
A way of prayer
Every Friday during Lent, visitors to St. Peter’s can participate in the Way of the Cross procession, moving from station to station, allowing the paintings’ luminous hues and expressive compositions to deepen their meditation on Christ’s Passion.
For those visiting Rome this Lent, this unique display is not to be missed. Whether seen as a masterpiece of modern sacred art or as an aid to prayer, Previati’s Via Crucis reminds us that the Passion of Christ is not only a story of suffering but one of luminous hope.
