The Last Judgment Tympanum at Notre Dame de Paris

This is a nineteenth century restoration of a thirteenth century original. The lower portion pictures the Resurrection of the Body: All the dead of history rise to the final judgment. In the middle portion St. Michael presides over the weighing of souls, the "psychostasy." A small devil manages to pull down one tray of the scale so that the larger devil can grab his prey. Other devils lead the damned off to the right while on the left the saints look up to their savior.

The upper portion is a Dëesis: The Virgin Mary and St. John pray for mercy for the people below, while angels hold the cross and spear, reminders that Christ the judge died for mankind.

Read more about the Last Judgment and the Dëesis.

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Photographed at the church by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.