Golgotha of Jasna Góra

In one painting the artist himself helps Christ carry the cross; in another, Primate Wyszyński and John Paul II look on at the Passion; and the final scene is titled "Ascension to Częstochowa". The Golgotha of Jasna Góra is a cycle of 18 paintings by Jerzy Duda-Gracz – a contemporary Way of the Cross that the Częstochowa-born painter gave to the shrine as a personal votive offering. He called it his greatest work.

A painter's votive gift

Jerzy Duda-Gracz was born in Częstochowa in 1941 and was linked to Jasna Góra from childhood – as a boy he sketched pilgrims, church fairs and markets below the monastery, and later he took part in the Jasna Góra painting workshops of 1982, 1983 and 1987. The initiative came from the artist himself; it was not commissioned by the Pauline monks. He worked on the cycle from April 2000 to March 2001, consulting the friars along the way. On 8 September 2001 the paintings were blessed by the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Józef Kowalczyk; the ceremony featured poetic commentaries on the stations by Ernest Bryll and music by Wojciech Kilar performed by the orchestra and choir of the Silesian Philharmonic.

What to see

The paintings hang on the upper floor of the annex to the Chapel of Our Lady, built in 1929–1933 by Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz on the site of former cloisters – the same place where, since at least the 18th century, pilgrims had walked past painted Stations of the Cross. Most of the works measure 185 × 117 cm and are painted in oil on fibreboard; only Station XII, "Jesus Dies on the Cross", is larger, at 185 × 234 cm.

Instead of an abstract symbol, Duda-Gracz chose a crowded, grotesque narrative. The Passion scenes are peopled with present-day Poles of all professions and characters and with the painter's family, and the Crucifixion shows victims of the national uprisings, the Second World War and communism, each holding a cross of their own. The cycle does not end at the tomb: four additional paintings show the Resurrection, Christ appearing to the Apostles, the appearance in Galilee and the "Ascension to Częstochowa" above a crowd of pilgrims in front of the shrine. Look out for the artist's self-portrait carrying the cross.

Did you know?

• Around 1900 the prior, Father Euzebiusz Rejman, initiated a monumental Way of the Cross on the ramparts of Jasna Góra; Pius Weloński's bronze stations were completed by 1913. Duda-Gracz's Golgotha appeared a century after that decision.
• The painter wrote that he wanted to show Golgotha "today, now and here, in Catholic Poland" – not as a picture story from 2,000 years ago.
• A book is laid out next to the stations in which visitors write down their reflections.

Tripto tip

The entrance to the Golgotha is through the Knights' Hall – combine it with the Chapel of Our Lady, the basilica and the ramparts with Weloński's Way of the Cross. Allow 30–45 minutes to take in all 18 paintings; they are dense with detail, so read each scene like a medieval altarpiece, from the figures in the background to Christ. Check opening times and guided tour options with the Jasna Góra Information Centre. This is an active shrine: dress appropriately and respect services in progress; photography in the museum spaces requires the monastery's permission.