Last Judgment Altarpiece (Beaune Altarpiece)
Beaune Last Judgment Altarpiece — Rogier, c.1446-1452
Rogier van der Weyden, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Beaune Last Judgment is the largest and most complete polyptych by Rogier van der Weyden, commissioned by Nicolas Rolin (Chancellor of Burgundy, also the patron of the Rolin Madonna by van Eyck) for the chapel of the Hôtel-Dieu hospital he founded at Beaune. The altarpiece opens to nine panels showing the full Last Judgment: in the centre, Christ enthroned in judgment surrounded by the Virgin, St John, and the apostles; in the centre panel below, the Archangel Michael weighing souls on his scale; and on either side, the blessed ascending to Heaven (left) and the damned descending to Hell (right).
When closed, the exterior panels show the donors (Nicolas Rolin and his wife Guigone de Salins) in grisaille with patron saints. The altarpiece remained in the Hôtel-Dieu until the 19th century and is still displayed in its original hospital setting.
Nicolas Rolin commissioned the altarpiece around 1446-1452 for the chapel of the Hôtel-Dieu hospital he had founded in 1443. The hospital treated the sick poor of Burgundy and was staffed by nursing nuns.
The Last Judgment altarpiece was visible from the patients' ward through an opening in the chapel screen — the patients could see the judgment scene as they lay in their beds. Rogier's treatment of the subject combines theological precision (every element is doctrinally specific) with his characteristic psychological intensity.
The weighing of souls by the Archangel Michael is the most powerful single panel: the scale in Michael's hands determines the eternal fate of the souls shown below him, and the nude figures of the souls being weighed are among the most individually human and vulnerable figures in 15th-century painting. The Hell panel (far right) is restrained compared to Bosch's Hell imagery — the damned descend in a composition of sorrowful elegance rather than grotesque chaos. The Heaven panel (far left) shows the blessed entering through a Gothic portal.
When standing before this work, look carefully: Beaune Last Judgment Altarpiece — Rogier, c.1446-1452. Give it time — what seems decorative often carries the central meaning.
When standing before this work, look carefully: Central panel — Christ in judgment. Give it time — what seems decorative often carries the central meaning.
When standing before this work, look carefully: Michael weighing souls — central lower panel. Give it time — what seems decorative often carries the central meaning.
When standing before this work, look carefully: Hell and Heaven panels — contrasting fates. Give it time — what seems decorative often carries the central meaning.
Hôtel-Dieu (Hospices de Beaune), Rue de l'Hôtel-Dieu, 21200 Beaune, France. Open daily 9:00-18:30 (9:00-19:00 July-August).
Admission fee applies. The altarpiece is displayed in its original chapel in the Hôtel-Dieu building.