34cm x 50cm - 1/8 - 2010 - Unframed
Print on Hahnemühle Natural Line Hemp 290g
( Naturally white tone and very fine texture for this paper, made of 60% hemp.
This paper contributes to sustainable development and resource preservation ).
Other formats available on request - signed and numbered - Certificate of authenticity
 
Perpignan, France
Procession of the Sanch
Everything about the ceremonial celebrations of Holy Week and the Passion has remained unchanged for centuries in Perpignan, in the south of France.
In the former capital of the kings of Majorca, the special colours and atmosphere amplify the drama of the days before and after Golgotha: this is Holy Week in Roussillon.

Prayers, psalmody, meditation. The crowd is there, massed and silent. The penitents pass by isolated under their bonnets. They stroll along, staggering under the burdens of the sins of the world. With their long hoods pointing skywards, the penitents isolate themselves from the world behind their cloth thebaids. Dressed in large red or black robes known as ‘la caperutxa’, they parade past, clutching their rosary beads, the point of contact between their flesh and their faith.

On their battered shoulders, the heavy ‘misteris’ recount the various scenes of the Passion, between the afflicted Madonna and the crucified Christ. At times, the penitents pause to the beat of drums, as if to catch their breath - a divine breath, of course. Often barefoot, the penitents go through their suffering to atone, a universal catharsis for all souls. Moments of piety. In search of salvation.

This ritual has remained unchanged for over six centuries. The Confrérie de la Sanch (‘Precious Blood of the Lord’) was founded in 1416 in the church of Saint-Jacques in Perpignan.