The Last Judgment with the Deësis

13th century
North tympanum, Burgos Cathedral

This work follows the Western tradition of placing the Deësis in the context of the Last Judgment and including angels who present the instruments of the Passion to Christ, who is flanked by the Virgin Mary and John in postures of entreaty. In this case, the instruments pictured are the cross (above) and the spear and pillar (left and right).

In most Deëses John the Baptist is the figure on the right, but this one pictures a beardless youth who could be John the Evangelist.

The Last Judgment is shown in the register below the main image. In this photograph one can see hirsute devils on the right grasping one man by the ear and tossing another naked into the abyss. The center of the register features a badly damaged relief of St. Michael weighing souls.

A capital in the same cathedral's south portal uses the same iconography, though on a smaller and more crowded scale.

Read more about the Deësis
Read more about the Last Judgment.

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