Purpose and iconography
Dooms were encouraged by the early medieval Church as an instrument to highlight the contrasts between the reward of Heaven and the agony of Hell so as to guide Christians away from misbehaviour and sin. A Doom was usually positioned either on the rear (liturgical Western) wall, if that space was available, or at the front (chancel end) of a church, often on the chancel arch itself so that it would be constantly visible to worshippers as they faced the altar during services.
Although there are many different versions, the composition stays broadly the same. On the left side of a Doom painting (that is, on Christ's right hand) is Heaven, whilst on the right (Christ's left) is Hell. At the top of the image Jesus Christ sits in glory with his right hand encouraging the saved upward, and his left hand pointing down to Hell for the damned. Typically flanking him is the Virgin Mary on his right and John the Apostle on his left, sometimes with the twenty-four elders mentioned in the Book of Revelation encircling the three of them. The angels blow trumpets to raise the dead for judgement. Commonly the Archangel Michael is in the centre, with the scales he will use to weigh the souls of humanity to see if individually they are fit for Heaven: one person is on one side of the scale while demonic creatures that represent the sins committed by the person are on the other side of the scale. The creatures try to tip the scales in their favour while, in some versions of the painting, the Virgin Mary places a rosary next to the person she wishes to protect, or puts her hand on the scale to counterbalance the demons. In some other versions, while one of the saved enters Heaven, a demon tries to pull them in with the damned, while an angel fights the demon for the soul.
Those who are worthy are brought to the gates of Heaven, frequently represented by a castle with large walls built to keep out sinful impurities. This is most commonly depicted on the left hand side of Doom paintings. Groups of angels adorn the walls of Heaven celebrating the saved as they approach Heaven's gates, where Saint Peter waits with his keys.
Those on the other side are deemed unworthy of Heaven, usually seized by demons and brought into the Hellmouth, beyond which, mostly out of sight, lie the bowels of hell.
A decisive factor in the Doom or Last Judgement will be the question, if the corporal works of mercy were practiced or not during lifetime. They rate as important acts of charity. Therefore, and according to the biblical sources (Mt 5:31-46), the conjunction of the Last Judgement and the works of mercy is very frequent in the pictorial tradition of Christian art. [3]
At Chaldon in Surrey the west wall of the church has a painting of the Ladder of Salvation (a subject common in the Eastern Church but this is the only example in England). This painting dates from about 1200 and is 17.5 ft long and 11.21 ft high. [4] It is in the church of Saints Peter and Paul, Chaldon (built before 1086 AD), and depicts images of the ways of salvation and damnation and their result. [5]
In Catholic theology, Limbo is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Europe described the underworld as divided into three distinct parts: Hell of the Damned, Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs, and Limbo of the Infants. The Limbo of the Fathers is an official doctrine of the Catholic Church, but the Limbo of the Infants is not. The concept of Limbo comes from the idea that, in the case of Limbo of the Fathers, good people were not able to achieve heaven just because they were born before the birth of Jesus Christ. This is also true for Limbo of the Infants in that simply because a child died before baptism, does not mean they deserve punishment, though they cannot achieve salvation.
Damnation is the concept of divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth.
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the Frashokereti of Zoroastrianism.
In Christian theology, the Harrowing of Hell is the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection. In triumphant descent, Christ brought salvation to the souls held captive there since the beginning of the world.
Chaldon is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The village is situated high on the North Downs, immediately west of Caterham and 15.8 miles (25.4 km) south of Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London.
The Last Judgment is a triptych attributed to Flemish painter Hans Memling and was painted between 1467 and 1471. It is now in the National Museum in Gdańsk in Poland. It was commissioned by Angelo Tani, an agent of the Medici at Bruges, but was captured at sea by Paul Beneke, a privateer from Danzig. A lengthy lawsuit against the Hanseatic League demanded its return to Italy. It was placed in the Basilica of the Assumption but in the 20th century it was moved to its present location.
The Cathedral of Saint Lazarus of Autun, commonly known as Autun Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Autun and a national monument of France. Famous for its Cluniac inspiration and its Romanesque sculptures by Gislebertus, it is a highlight of Romanesque art in Burgundy. It is the seat of the Bishop of Autun. The Bishop of Autun set forth the construction of St. Lazarus Cathedral as a result of the large movement of pilgrims travelling to Vezelay as they progressed on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whose membership changes over time and according to the context. The image develops from Early Christian art, as a depiction of the Heavenly throne as described in 1 Enoch, Daniel 7, and The Apocalypse of John. In the Byzantine world, the image developed slightly differently into the half-length Christ Pantocrator, "Christ, Ruler of All", a usually unaccompanied figure, and the Deesis, where a full-length enthroned Christ is entreated by Mary and St. John the Baptist, and often other figures. In the West, the evolving composition remains very consistent within each period until the Renaissance, and then remains important until the end of the Baroque, in which the image is ordinarily transported to the sky.
The Church of St James and St Paul, south of the village of Marton, Cheshire, England, is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Congleton. Its benefice is combined with those of Holy Trinity, Capesthorne, Christ Church, Eaton, and All Saints, Siddington. The church is an important location in the novel Strandloper by Alan Garner.
The Last Judgment is a painting by the Renaissance artist Fra Angelico. It was commissioned by the Camaldolese Order for the newly elected abbot, the humanist scholar Ambrogio Traversari. It is variously dated to c1425, 1425–1430 and 1431. It was originally sited in the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and now is in the museum of San Marco, Florence. It is not to be confused with another Fra Angelico Last Judgement in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
The Beaune Altarpiece is a large polyptych c. 1443–1451 altarpiece by the Early Netherlandish artist Rogier van der Weyden, painted in oil on oak panels with parts later transferred to canvas. It consists of fifteen paintings on nine panels, of which six are painted on both sides. Unusually for the period, it retains some of its original frames.
South Leigh is a village and civil parish on Limb Brook, a small tributary of the River Thames, about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) east of Witney in Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 336.
Purgatory is a passing intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul. A common analogy is dross being removed from metal in a furnace.
St Botolph's Church is the Church of England parish church of Hardham, West Sussex. It is in Horsham District and is a Grade I listed building. It contains the earliest nearly complete series of wall paintings in England. Among forty individual subjects is the earliest known representation of St George in England. Dating from the 12th century, they were hidden from view until uncovered in 1866 and now "provide a rare and memorable impression of a medieval painted interior". The simple two-cell stone building, with its original medieval whitewashed exterior, has seen little alteration and also has an ancient bell.
The Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych consists of two small painted panels attributed to the Early Netherlandish artist Jan van Eyck, with areas finished by unidentified followers or members of his workshop. This diptych is one of the early Northern Renaissance oil-on-panel masterpieces, renowned for its unusually complex and highly detailed iconography, and for the technical skill evident in its completion. It was executed in a miniature format; the panels are just 56.5 cm (22.2 in) high by 19.7 cm (7.8 in) wide. The diptych was probably commissioned for private devotion.
Last Judgement is a c. 1435 tempera-on-oak polyptych by the German artist Stefan Lochner, probably commissioned for the council chamber of City Hall of Cologne, but now broken apart. Today the outer wings, which formed a sixfold partition when extended, have been sawed off into twelve individual pictures, most of which are still extant but held in separate collections, mostly in Cologne, Munich and Frankfurt. The interior wings included the Martyrdom of the Apostles, the exterior panels comprised in part of the Saint Anthony Abbot, Mary Magdalene and a Donor, Saints Catherine, Hubert, Quirinus of Neuss, and a Donor, and Pope Cornelius. Its depiction of the Last Judgment follows many of the conventions of contemporary doom paintings, but Lochner introduces important innovations, especially in his rendering of the angel's black and flowing clothes.
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul at Chaldon, Surrey, is a Church of England parish church in the Diocese of Southwark. The building was begun before 1086 and is Grade I listed. It is notable for containing a large mural dating from around 1170, depicting images of the Last Judgement and purgatory.
The Church of St Vincent in Newnham in Hertfordshire is a 12th-century Anglican parish church and a Grade II* listed building, having gained that status in 1968. The church is named for Saint Vincent and is under the Diocese of St Albans; it is noted for the Newnham Murals which were uncovered in 1963.
The Last Judgment also known as The Second Coming is an egg tempera painting by Francheskos Kavertzas. His artistic period was during the first part of the 17th century. Seven of his works survived, five were signed. He was a member of the late Cretan School. The Last Judgment painted by Georgios Klontzas inspired countless Cretan artists, Kavertzas was one of them. Kavertzas's painting In You Rejoiceth strongly resembles Klontzas's In Thee Rejoiceth. Leos Moskos was also inspired by Klontzas's work. He also painted a similar version of The Last Judgment. The final judgment is the last judgment of every person on earth. The painting is a pictural representation of that event. The Kavertzas The Last Judgment is unique because it features a nun. Her name was Evgenia Trapezontiopoulla. According to records on March 9, 1641, the nun could not afford to pay for the painting. Kavertzas and the nun bartered instead. The painting is part of the collection of the Hellenic Institute of Venice in Italy.
Triptych of the Last Judgement is a tempera-painted triptych created by Cretan Renaissance painter Georgios Klontzas. Klontzas was active in Crete during the later part of the 16th century. El Greco was active around the same period and was also from Crete. Klontzas was hired to assess his work. Klontzas completed tempera paintings, triptychs, and illuminated manuscripts. His existing catalog comprises over fifty-four pieces of his art. Klontzas frequently painted the theme of the Last Judgment. Some of his well-known works include The Last Judgement Triptych (Klontzas) and The Last Judgment (Klontzas). The Vatican owns Triptych of the Just in Glory also created by Klontzas which also features the Last Judgment.
