Like the Portal of the Nativity, this facade is divided into three doorways, dedicated to Faith, Charity and Hope, and topped by four spires dedicated to the Apostles St. James the Minor, Bartholomew, Thomas and Philip, which were completed in 1976.

It is held up by six large sloping columns that look like Sequoya tree trunks, above which a large pyramid-shaped pediment has been placed, comprising 18 bone-shaped columns, and topped by a large cross with a crown of thorns.

All these groups of carvings and the bronze doors were made by Josep María Subirachs, between 1987 and 2009. His style, which is half-way between Figurative and Abstract, is also highly Expressionist, and he juxtaposes concave and convex spaces to create very geometrical figures. This can be seen in the statue of St. George inside the church. His carvings have been rather controversial because they are a complete break from the realistic figures in the Portal of the Nativity. However, before he accepted the commission, Subirachs asked to be allowed to carry out his work with total liberty, as Gaudi himself had made clear was to be the case. Gaudi had always argued that subsequent generations should work according to the aesthetic tastes of their time.



(c) (R) 2013, MUSMon com S.L.
Text (a) Diego Laforga Marcos (2013)

Picture:
Source: Own work
Author: Carlos Marcos (2013)