Andrew Gough's Arcadia

(Section 4)

Initial Impressions

Having reviewed the Stations of the Cross of Louis de Coma we must now ask what, if anything, can we gleam from these provocative images? Clearly Father de Coma was obsessed with detail as the remnants of the Carol estate suggests. The problem is that Stations of the Cross are by nature prone to artistic interpretation. Countless variations exist on a rather basic theme, the Passion of Christ.

We know that Berenger Saunière was especially particular about his Stations of the Cross, having purchased the most expensive version in the series from a Masonic statue manufacturer in Toulouse, the same place where he commissioned his unusual West Wall fresco. He then modified them for reasons unknown, but much speculated. Clearly the two priests have much in common, as we have seen, but what indications are there that Louis de Coma was also fastidious about his Stations of the Cross? Although speculative, some initial observations are in order.

Again, the following observations are the collective insights of the Back To The Source Forum, moderated by Corjan de Raaf.

The Stations of the Cross of Louis de Coma appear to have been purchased from a French manufacturer by the name of Atelier Revillon & Rouillard. This is indicated by the company logo (Revillon) on the bottom of Station 2, Jesus Carries His Cross. Initial research reveals that Revillon manufactured at least one other set of Stations, and records show that they were delivered to the Basilique Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Garde in Longpont-sur-Orge in 1856. The account is recorded in the French National Archives and can be viewed here.

Station 2: The insignia of the manufacturer; Revillon.

Returning for a moment to the ‘7981’ imprinted on the back of Station 13, it has been suggested that this number may reflect the date, the 7th of September 1881. This seems reasonable, given that the second half of the 19th century was the period when Atelier Revillon & Rouillard were providing this service.

Initial inspection of the two sets of Stations alludes to some discrepancies. For instance, the NDdBG set is signed on Stations 7 and 8 while De Coma's set appears to be signed on Station 2 only. Further inspection (and cleaning) of the Stations is required before this can be confirmed.

Incidentally, Station 2 displays a shield with the letters SPQR. Albeit intriguing, it simply stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus ("De Senat and the people of Rome"), which is nothing unusual. Also with respect to Station 2 we see what appears to be a club lying beneath the feet of Jesus and the Roman solder who is helping carry his cross. Is this the same club we see a young man yielding in Station 3? If so, who is he attacking, and why?

The club in Stations 2 and 3; is it the same device?

Station 14, Jesus is Laid in the Tomb, is intriguing. Here we see a man carrying a torch. The gospels indicate that Christ was led to his tomb during daylight. So are we to assume to that the torch was meant to lighten the tomb? This is interesting, because one of Saunière’s most notable modifications involves the same Station 14, only instead of an anomalistic torch; Sauniere appears to have painted over the Sun, rendering it a moon instead. The implication noted by many researchers, including Michael Baigent, is that this may imply that Jesus was not crucified as we were led to believe, given that a burial of this type and period would not have occurred at night. Is de Coma attempting to say the same thing?

Saunières Station 14: Did he paint over the sun and make it a moon?

Also in Louis de Coma’s Station 14 we see two vases, which according to The Gospel of John (John 19-39), were used for quite specific purposes: ‘Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds’. As many researchers have noted, this is an exceptional amount of medicinal ingredients to have prepared for a dead man. Myrrh and aloes would be of value to a person who was wounded and needed to heal, but what use would they hold for the dead? Also noted on Station 14 is the fact that Jesus is not wearing a crown of thorns on his head, although this could merely be artistic license.

Louis de Coma’s Station 1, Jesus is Condemned to Die, is also reminiscent of Saunière’s Station 1, in that a young black boy is depicted holding the dish of water that Pontius Pilate uses to wash his hands. Many researchers have associated the black boy, or Negro, with Rocco Negro, a mountain feature and fixture in Henry Lincoln’s pentagonal geometry. Others have associated it with the Nobel, Marie de Nègre. Conspicuously, the Gospels don't mention anything about the nationality of the child, and other conventional depictions of the Station seem to show a Caucasian in the role, as illustrated below. Is this significant, or again is it mere artistic license?

Conventional Stations 1.
Showing a Caucasian with the water.

Station 5, Simon Helps Jesus Carry his Cross, shares yet more similarities with Saunière’s restorations, only this time the similarity is with the priests Altar Painting. Curiously, a pyramid appears in both, and in the same location; on the right had side of a featured landscape. Could this be a Gnostic reference to Mary Magdalene and the Holy Family having come from Egypt? Further, a pyramid has 5 points, just like a pentagram, and Venus, the only planet whose orbit in the sky traces the shape of a pentagram every 8 years is the celestial counterpart of Mary Magdalene. Again, is this coincidence, conjecture, or does there appear to be conscious intent?

Keeping with the same images for a moment, additional observations include the fact Saunière’s altar painting portrays a building in the landscape that forms the shape of an ‘M’. Is this symbolic of Mary Magdalene? In de Coma’s Station 5, a monastic building has a domed roof, much like the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and other Basilica like buildings. Are these details significant?

De Coma and Saunière:
Apparent illustrations of a pyramid, a domed basilica and an ‘M’ shaped arch.

There are other curiosities that warrant mention, such as the prominent depiction of biblical plants in Stations 3 (Jesus Falls for the First Time) and 13 (Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross). It’s well documented that de Comma imported plants from the Holy Land and replanted them in Carol in the garden of Gethsemane. Not surprisingly, the plants were unable to adjust to the seasonal French climate and quickly died. Could this be why de Coma chose to immortalize them in metal? And again, we ask ourselves why are they given such curiously important positions in the Station?

For instance, in Station 3 a plant is touched by the toes of Christ, with his big toe strangely offset from the others, while in station 13, a hand with an equally curious offset thumb points at a plant that is once again, beneath the feet of Christ.

Station 3 and 13: Prominent depictions of Plants. What do they represent?

Also in Station 3 we are shown a device or weapon with 3 X’s on it. At first this appears curious, but is actually quite ordinary in this context. The device is actually a Roman weapon called Fasces, which simply translates as ‘the right to command mans path’. The weapon was commonly borne by attendants or bodyguards before a Consul or High Magistrate, as a symbol of their authority. Arguably, the question is just who was the high Magistrate to be protected here, Pontius Pilate or Christ?

Station 3: three X’s on a Roman Faces.

Station 11, Jesus is Nailed to the Cross, is interesting in that it portrays Christ being tied around the waste with a rope. This is not unusual, as the Romans frequently used rope in crucifixions as rope was less expensive than nails and resulted in a slower and more painful death by suffocation. Crucifixion by rope was considered a cruel punishment that could take days, even a week. The question here, and perhaps naively so, is why are the Romans securing the rope around Christ’s waist?

Station 11: on the cross: Romans tying a rope around Christ’s waist.

At the end of the day, the Station of the Cross's appear to contain many anomalies and curiosities. But that’s just par for the course in the life of Louis de Coma. And once again the question is, do the curiosities demonstrate conscious intent and if so, what is their significance?

So many questions remain. Why did de Coma construct his most important religions structures in an apparent alignment and orientation? Why did he depict Station 12 in life size sculptures and the others in metal moulds? Was this to underscore his Gethsemane theme park? Why is a statue of Jesus depicted turning away from Father de Coma in his family crypt? Why was his body removed from his family crypt and buried in an unmarked grave in the unhallowed ground of the church parking lot? Who moved it? Are the similarities between Louis de Coma and Berengier Saunière significant, or merely coincidental?

Many questions remain unanswered. However, that’s better than forced suppositions. After all, in a chapter to a mystery where questions outnumber answers, perhaps it wise to contemplate, before one speculates.

At the unmarked tomb of Louis de Coma.

Suggested Reading and References:

Dynamite, Louis de Coma and his abbey
by Philip Coppens

Le Monastere Dynamite:
by Monique Dumas & Jacques-Francois Reglat

Mary Magdalene: Christianity’s Hidden Goddess
By Lynn Picknett

Arcadia would like to thank the members of the Back To The Source Forum for their insights and interpretation of the Louis de Coma Stations of the Cross.