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Exhibition Guide

A black line drawing of a banner with a stylized face. The rectangular banner hangs from two ties at the top, featuring a face with dark triangular eyes, a prominent T-shaped nose, and a small mouth. The number 6 is in the bottom right corner of the banner.

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 line drawing of a banner with a stylized face. The rectangular banner hangs from two ties at the top, featuring a face with dark triangular eyes, a prominent T-shaped nose, and a small mouth. The number 6 is in the bottom right corner of the banner.

Station 6: A Holy Woman Wipes Jesus’ Face

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    Station 6: A Holy Woman Wipes Jesus' Face

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  • Audio

    Station 6: Prayer

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Art Object Info

Henri Matisse

Medium:
Black enamel brushwork on ceramic panel
Date:
1951

Visual Description:

Station 6 is positioned near the right of the center row, measuring approximately two tiles high and three tiles wide. In this Stations of the Cross story, Veronica, a woman along Jesus’ path to his crucifixion, stepped in and wiped his face with a cloth, which left an impression of it behind. The Station shows the outline of Jesus’ face. The eyes, nose, and mouth are all represented by a few quick black brushstrokes, and the abstracted head does not have ears. It is also shown without hair, in contrast to more traditional representations of Jesus with his long hair and beard. The face is framed by a square, draped at the top and marked by two triangular, bow-like forms at the upper corners, evoking a stretched and hanging cloth. This is the only figure in Matisse’s Stations of the Cross mural that shows facial features.

BMA

Station 6: A Holy Woman Wipes Jesus’ Face

Henri Matisse
Date:
1951
Medium:
Black enamel brushwork on ceramic panel

Visual Description:

Station 6 is positioned near the right of the center row, measuring approximately two tiles high and three tiles wide. In this Stations of the Cross story, Veronica, a woman along Jesus’ path to his crucifixion, stepped in and wiped his face with a cloth, which left an impression of it behind. The Station shows the outline of Jesus’ face. The eyes, nose, and mouth are all represented by a few quick black brushstrokes, and the abstracted head does not have ears. It is also shown without hair, in contrast to more traditional representations of Jesus with his long hair and beard. The face is framed by a square, draped at the top and marked by two triangular, bow-like forms at the upper corners, evoking a stretched and hanging cloth. This is the only figure in Matisse’s Stations of the Cross mural that shows facial features.

BMA