Jan Lambert-Rucki, interior sculptural decoration, 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, „Droga Krzyżowa”, 1939-1943, cement polichromowany, Boulogne-Billancourt, kościół Sainte-Thérèse-de l’Enfant-Jésus, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2013
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, „Droga Krzyżowa”, 1939-1943, cement polichromowany, Boulogne-Billancourt, kościół Sainte-Thérèse-de l’Enfant-Jésus, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2013
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, 'Stations of the Cross' (fragment), 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Boulogne-Billancourt, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, „Droga Krzyżowa”, 1939-1943, cement polichromowany, Boulogne-Billancourt, kościół Sainte-Thérèse-de l’Enfant-Jésus, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2013
License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Instytut Polonika, License terms and conditions
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, 'Stations of the Cross' (fragment), 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Boulogne-Billancourt, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, 'Stations of the Cross', 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, Christ Crucified, 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, interior sculptural decoration, 1939-1943, wood, polychrome cement, church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, sculptural decorations, 1939-1943, cement and polychrome wood, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, sculptural decoration with scene of the Birth of Christ in the nave, 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jean Lambert-Rucki, sculptural decoration with the image of Jesus as the Sower in the nave, 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, sculptural decoration with scene of the Adoration of Joseph and Mary in the side chapel, 1939-1943, polychrome wood, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, sculptural decoration with scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary, 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, statue of the Virgin and Child on the façade, 1939-1943, sandstone, church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
Jan Lambert-Rucki, statue of the Virgin and Child on the façade, 1939-1943, sandstone, church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Source: Instytut Polonika
Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt
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ID: POL-001192-P/134730

"Stations of the Cross" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt

ID: POL-001192-P/134730

"Stations of the Cross" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt

The smooth side walls of the nave, in their lower part (above the penetrations into the side aisles), are covered with scenes of the Stations of the Cross, arranged on both sides in almost continuous friezes. The individual stations have been reduced to representations with 2-3 figures, accompanied by quotations from the gospels. The colouring of the figures is limited to a few vague, greyish tones of pink, blue, yellow.

A native of Krakow, Jan Lambert-Rucki (1888-1967) turned to religious subjects in the early 1930s. Most of his large church commissions from France, however, date from after the Second World War, and the artist's popularity in this area was due to the success of his complex sculptural decoration of a church in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris. There, in a variety of materials, he executed the exterior and interior works of the upper church, the side chapels and the crypt (where he carved reliefs directly in stone). This is his largest and most iconographically diverse work, executed with the help of his wife.

The church was built to a design by Charles Bourdery from the mid-1920s, and was not completed until after 1945. Lambert-Rucki's sculptures (especially his works on the side elevation and the figure in the tympanum) either harmonise with or break from the Art Deco style of the building's architecture and stained glass windows, with a quasi-folk styling closer to the Realist tendencies of the 1930s. The latter also comes to the fore in the characterisation of the human types of the Way of the Cross. As the church was being built as the seat of a new parish in the working-class area of Boulogne-Billancourt, this stylisation may have been suggested to the sculptor by the commissioners. It was melded into a unified style with inspirations from Romanesque sculpture and miniature (frequent in his religious work), giving hieratic solemnity to the figures; with expressive late Gothic sculpture, and with a tendency towards the grotesque. Lambert-Rucki's exceptional sculptural ensemble also appears stylistically unique against the background of the explorations of French artists of the time in the field of religious art. However, it remains completely forgotten, despite the growing interest in, among other things, Boulogne-Billancourt itself as a lively avant-garde centre in the first half of the twentieth century, and as the site of an exceptional flowering of Art Deco. The sculptor had already taken up the theme of the Stations of the Cross in 1938 in the church of Notre-Dame-de la-Trinité in Blois, again a dozen years after the war in a church in the Normandy village of Fiefs (also using cement in both realisations).

Lambert-Rucki is also the author of the wooden crucifix, placed next to the main altar.

Related persons:

Time of construction:

1939-1943

Creator:

Jan Lambert-Rucki (malarz, grafik, rzeźbiarz; Polska, Francja)(preview)

Bibliography:

  • A. Choubard, Un sculpteur au service de l’Eglise - Jean Lambert Rucki, Mémoire de maîtrise, 1992; www.saintetherese92.fr/art-histoire
  • Winiarski A., Jean Lambert-Rucki 1888-1967, Konstancin-Jeziorna 2017, s. 162-163
  • https://saintetherese92.fr/art-histoire
  • Rysunki przygotowawcze artysty do Drogi Krzyżowej (1942, węgiel na papierze; Boulogne-Billancourt, Musée des Années 30)

Keywords:

Publication:

08.08.2023

Last updated:

14.08.2025

Author:

prof. Andrzej Pieńkos
see more Text translated automatically
Interior of Sainte-Therèse church in Boulogne-Billancourt with Stations of the Cross by Jan Lambert-Rucki on the side walls. Stained glass windows and wooden pews are visible. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, interior sculptural decoration, 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Interior of Sainte-Therèse Church in Boulogne-Billancourt, showing the Stations of the Cross by Jan Lambert-Rucki. The scenes are depicted as friezes with muted colors, featuring 2-3 figures each. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, „Droga Krzyżowa”, 1939-1943, cement polichromowany, Boulogne-Billancourt, kościół Sainte-Thérèse-de l’Enfant-Jésus, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2013
Relief of the Stations of the Cross in Sainte-Therèse Church, Boulogne-Billancourt, showing three figures with a cross. The inscription reads: 'Ne pleurez pas sur moi mais sur vous-mêmes et sur vos enfants.' Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, „Droga Krzyżowa”, 1939-1943, cement polichromowany, Boulogne-Billancourt, kościół Sainte-Thérèse-de l’Enfant-Jésus, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2013
Relief depicting a Station of the Cross by Jan Lambert-Rucki in Sainte-Therèse Church, Boulogne-Billancourt. Three figures in muted tones; one carries a cross, another assists, and a third holds a whip. French text below. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, 'Stations of the Cross' (fragment), 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Boulogne-Billancourt, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Relief of the Crucifixion scene from the Stations of the Cross by Jan Lambert-Rucki in Sainte-Therèse Church, Boulogne-Billancourt. Three figures, muted colors, with a French inscription below. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, „Droga Krzyżowa”, 1939-1943, cement polichromowany, Boulogne-Billancourt, kościół Sainte-Thérèse-de l’Enfant-Jésus, photo Andrzej Pieńkos, 2013
Relief depicting a scene from the Stations of the Cross by Jan Lambert-Rucki in Sainte-Therèse Church, Boulogne-Billancourt. Four figures carry a body, with muted tones of pink, blue, and yellow. Inscription in French below. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, 'Stations of the Cross' (fragment), 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Boulogne-Billancourt, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Interior of Sainte-Therèse Church in Boulogne-Billancourt, featuring the Stations of the Cross by Jan Lambert-Rucki on the side walls, with stained glass windows above and an altar in the foreground. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, 'Stations of the Cross', 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Wooden crucifix of Jesus with crown of thorns in Sainte-Therèse church, Boulogne-Billancourt. Reliefs of two figures and French text 'EST LIVRÉ POUR MOI ST PAUL' on wall. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, Christ Crucified, 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Wooden crucifix by Jan Lambert-Rucki in Sainte-Therèse church, Boulogne-Billancourt. The figure of Christ is on a simple cross, with a plant at the base. Religious artwork decorates the wall behind. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, interior sculptural decoration, 1939-1943, wood, polychrome cement, church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Interior of Sainte-Therèse church in Boulogne-Billancourt, featuring a large mural behind the altar, stained glass windows, and a crucifix. The pews and pulpit are visible in the foreground. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, sculptural decorations, 1939-1943, cement and polychrome wood, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Bas-relief depicting the Holy Family with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. An angel and a star are above, with a donkey and an ox in the background. The figures are in muted tones of blue, pink, and yellow. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, sculptural decoration with scene of the Birth of Christ in the nave, 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Bas-relief depicting a religious scene with a central figure in robes, surrounded by two crosses and wheat motifs. The background shows birds and a person plowing a field. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jean Lambert-Rucki, sculptural decoration with the image of Jesus as the Sower in the nave, 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Interior of Sainte-Therèse church in Boulogne-Billancourt showing the Stations of the Cross by Jan Lambert-Rucki. The wall features reliefs with figures in muted pink, blue, and yellow tones. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, sculptural decoration with scene of the Adoration of Joseph and Mary in the side chapel, 1939-1943, polychrome wood, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Interior of Sainte-Therèse Church in Boulogne-Billancourt. Wall reliefs depict scenes from the Stations of the Cross with muted colors. A stained glass window and benches are visible. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, sculptural decoration with scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary, 1939-1943, polychrome cement, Church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Facade of Sainte-Therèse Church in Boulogne-Billancourt with a tall brick tower, geometric window patterns, and a statue above the entrance. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, statue of the Virgin and Child on the façade, 1939-1943, sandstone, church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved
Facade of the Sainte-Therèse church in Boulogne-Billancourt with a statue of a religious figure in a niche above the entrance, flanked by brick walls and windows with geometric patterns. Photo showing \"Stations of the Cross\" by Jan Lambert-Rucki in the church of Sainte-Therèse in Boulogne-Billancourt Gallery of the object +15
Jan Lambert-Rucki, statue of the Virgin and Child on the façade, 1939-1943, sandstone, church of Sainte-Thérèse-de l'Enfant-Jésus, Boulogne-Bilancourt (France), photo Maria Muszkowska, 2020, all rights reserved

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