3 déc. 2011

Christ in Majesty - Royal portal Chartres

Submitted by walwyn
01/1145 to 01/1155
mar, 04/06/2010 - 10:53 - Royal portal Last Judgement. Chartres Cathedral. 06/04/2010.
link to flickr

The central tympanum of Chartres Cathedral’s west façade, carved around 1150, portrays Christ enthroned in a mandorla during the Last Judgment. Seated frontally with right hand raised in blessing and left holding the Book of Life, he is encircled by the four evangelical symbols: the angel (Matthew), lion (Mark), ox (Luke), and eagle (John). These winged figures underscore his divine authority and the Gospels’ testimony. Below, on the lintel, the twelve apostles stand in two rows of six, each bearing a scroll or book, symbolizing their role as witnesses and judges (Matthew 19:28). The surrounding archivolts radiate outward: innermost angels, then the twenty-four Elders of the Apocalypse with instruments (Revelation 4–5), and finally the zodiac signs and labors of the months, linking cosmic and earthly order to divine judgment. This mid-twelfth-century ensemble, blending Romanesque hierarchy with emerging Gothic clarity, forms a preserved visual sermon for entering pilgrims.