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Exhibition Guide

A black-and-white line drawing shows a seated figure on an X-legged chair, with two elongated standing figures to the right. A number "1" is between the chair and the figures.

Henri Matisse. Detail of The Stations of the Cross, Chapel of the Rosary, Vence. All copyright-protected works by Henri Matisse © 2025 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: © Musée Matisse Nice/François Fernandez

A black-and-white line drawing shows a seated figure on an X-legged chair, with two elongated standing figures to the right. A number "1" is between the chair and the figures.

Station 1: Jesus Is Condemned to Death Visual Description

    Station 1, the first scene in the Stations of the Cross story, is positioned in the lower left corner of the mural. It is approximately four tiles high and three tiles wide. A tall, arched canopy represented by two black lines extends over the top of a single figure seated on a platform facing right. The seated figure represents an officer of the Roman Empire who, in the story of the First Station of the Cross, accused Jesus of treason and condemned him to death by crucifixion. The platform and the seat on which the figure sits are decorated with an “X” form spanning the width of each, adding an uncommon, if limited, level of detail in the mural. Three figures, standing in front of the platform and facing the seated figure, are closely grouped together, depicted with only three narrowly spaced black lines. One is meant to represent Jesus at his trial, receiving his judgment.