Beaune Altarpiece

The Last Judgment is a polyptych painted c. 1445–1450 by Rogier van der Weyden. The medium is oil on oak panel, though some panels have been transferred to canvas. It is in the collection of the Musée de l'Hôtel-Dieu, Beaune in France.

Description

At the top of the center panel Christ sits in judgement, a sword to his left, a lily to his right. Beneath the lily is written in white the words venite benedicti Patris mei possidete paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi.^[1] Beneath the sword is written in black discedite a me maledicti in ignem aeternum qui paratus est diabolo et angelis eius.^[2] Both are quotations from Jesus' discourse on The Sheep and the Goats.^[3]

The Archangel Michael, in the center below Christ, weighs the souls, shown through iconographic elements common to paintings of the Last Judgment, t. At Michael's feet the dead rise from their graves. Some souls enter Paradise; others, Hell. Paradise is depicted as a gate to a cathedral illuminated with shining light. The people walk calmly towards it clasping their hands in prayer, as an Angel stands by the gate. Hell is depicted as a place of fiery gloom into which the damned tumble screaming and crying.

At either side of the archangel Michael sit the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, the twelve Apostles, and other saints not positively identified.

Gallery

St. Michael weighing the souls
Two Angels carrying the pillar Christ was scourged on.
A soul rises up from the grave
Condemnation and Salvation

Notes

^ Matthew 25:34: "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:"
^ Matthew 25:41: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"
^ Matthew 25

Sources

Campbell, Lorne. Van der Weyden. London: Chaucer Press, 2004. ISBN 1-904449-24-7
Blum, Shirley Neilsen. Early Netherlandish Triptychs: A Study in Patronage. California Studies in the History of Art, 13. ISBN 978-0-520-01444-2

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[1] Matthew 25:34: "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:"

[2] Matthew 25:41: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"

[3] Matthew 25

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v t e Rogier van der Weyden
List of works
Single religious works	Virgin and Child Enthroned (c. 1430–1432) The Madonna Standing (c. 1430–1432) The Magdalen Reading (fragment, c. 1435–1438) Durán Madonna (c. 1435–1438) The Descent from the Cross (c. 1435–1438) Virgin and Child with Saints (c. 1435–1438) Saint Luke Drawing the Virgin (c. 1435–1440) St Hubert Altarpiece (c. late 1430s) Christ on the Cross with Mary and St John (c. 1440) Pietà (c. 1441) Visitation (c. 1445) St Jerome and the Lion (c. 1450–1465) Virgin and Child (c. 1460) Lamentation of Christ (c. 1460–1463) Medici Madonna (c. 1460–1464)
Portraits	Portrait of a Woman (c. 1435) Portrait of a Young Woman (c. 1440–1445) Portrait of Isabella of Portugal (c. 1445–1450) Portrait of Antoine, 'Grand Bâtard' of Burgundy (c. 1460) Portrait of Francesco d'Este (c. 1460) Portrait of a Lady (c. 1460) Portrait of Jean Gros (c. 1460–1464) Portrait of John I, Duke of Cleves
Diptychs	Diptych of Jeanne of France (c. 1452–1470) Crucifixion Diptych (c. 1464–1465) Diptych of Philip de Croÿ with The Virgin and Child (c. 1460)
Triptychs	Annunciation Triptych (c. 1434) Miraflores Altarpiece (c. 1442–1445) Seven Sacraments Altarpiece (c. 1448) Beaune Altarpiece (c. 1445–1450) Bladelin Altarpiece (c. 1450) The Braque Triptych (c. 1452) Saint Columba Altarpiece (c. 1455) St John Altarpiece (c. 1455)
Civic	The Justice of Trajan and Herkinbald (c. 1450)
Miniature	Jean Wauquelin presenting his 'Chroniques de Hainaut' to Philip the Good (1447–1448)
Embroidery	Fragments of a Cope with the Seven Sacraments
Workshop	Portrait of Philip the Good (after 1450) Portrait of Charles the Bold (1460)