Miquel Barceló, one of the three artists shortlisted by the Sagrada Família to design the Glòria façade

BarcelonaMiquel Barceló's wishes have been fulfilled: the Board of Trustees of the Sagrada Família has asked him to submit an artistic proposal for the sculptures on the Gloria façade. As the basilica itself has announced, they have also asked the Basque sculptor Cristina Iglesias and the Mexican Javier Marín. The artists must submit their proposals by the end of the year. These proposals will allow the Board of Trustees to "select the artist or artists who will ultimately carry out their execution." Barceló and Marín are eminently figurative artists, while Iglesias is known for her monumental sculptures inspired by the plant world. Iglesias also has the most experience in the field of public art.

The Board of Trustees made the decision this Monday, coinciding with the start of work on the Glòria façade. The work began with the installation of the structure on the sidewalk of Mallorca Street, on which scaffolding will be erected to raise the first 40 meters of the façade's four towers and a first row of eight. The scaffolding's assembly is expected to take approximately three weeks. Once installed, it will be covered with three giant canvases that will reproduce the image of the completed façade, but without the sculptural adornment. Initially, the work on the façade will last approximately five years, but pedestrians will still be able to walk along this sidewalk, as the scaffolding includes a platform at street level that allows for the creation of a tunnel.

The Glory façade will include hundreds of sculptures. Initially, those responsible for the Sagrada Família had contacted Jaume Plensa, but the artist declined the proposal because he found it too colossal. For the Glory façade, the temple's board of trustees developed a theological plan based on an interpretation of Gaudí's proposals, which left very little material on what the façade should look like. In 2019, it was announced that the artistic commission of the Sagrada Família had prepared a selection of names and the rules of a competition to select the artists who would work on the temple, an initiative of which no further news has been received. In this regard, the president of the Construction Board of the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Família,Esteve Camps, he stated in the weekly Christian Catalonia that Gaudí conceived the Gloria façade in three levels, "earthly, spiritual and heavenly", and that for this reason at least "three sculptors" would work on it.

From the story of Adam and Eve to the final judgment

The Gloria façade will present the history of humanity from Adam and Eve to the Last Judgment, as well as the teachings of Jesus displayed in the various architectural elements. As with the entire Sagrada Família complex, each part of this façade will be assigned a very specific symbolism. One of Gloria's most characteristic features is that the upper part of the porch will be covered by sixteen large hyperboloid-shaped lanterns crowned with cones, reaching a height of about 80 meters. Above these lanterns, as well as on the lower part of the towers, Gaudí planned to place clouds inscribed with the Creed.

The lanterns will be placed on two levels: seven lanterns in front and nine behind. The arrangement will ascend toward the center of the façade. The lanterns on the first level, those closest to the street, correspond to the seven days of Creation, and the others to the nine hearts or angelic groups that praise the glories of God. Like the Nativity and Passion façades, the Glory façade will have a large porch and four bell towers, in this case dedicated to the apostles Andrew, Peter, Paul, and James the Greater. But unlike the other bell towers, the first 30 meters of the part facing the street will be cut off, and instead of a wall, it will be supported by eight columns dedicated to the eight Beatitudes proclaimed by Jesus.

To enter the basilica through the Glory façade, there are seven bronze doors executed by Josep Maria Subirachs. Each one represents a sacrament. The central door, 4.70 meters wide by 5 meters high, represents the Eucharist and is inscribed with the complete Lord's Prayer in Catalan. Across the surface of the door is the phrase "Let the Lord give us this day our daily bread" in fifty different languages.

The columns on either side of the doors will represent the seven corporal works of mercy and the seven spiritual works of mercy. The seven outermost columns supporting the portico will represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and the seven capital virtues that oppose each other.

The Stairway of Discord

To bridge the gap between Provença and Mallorca Streets, Gaudí's project includes a staircase at the bottom of the façade, a feature that has been the subject of controversy for decades, as it would involve the construction of rubble on two blocks, between Mallorca and Aragó Streets. This was, in fact, planned in the 1976 metropolitan master plan, which reserved a wide, two-island promenade so that the Sagrada Família would have a clear access visible from Avinguda Diagonal. However, this did not prevent the construction of housing, which must be addressed if the project goes ahead. The question now is how many apartments will be affected and which ones.