Last Judgment

Place of OriginEngland, possibly Nottingham

Date15th century

Dimensions15 1/2 × 10 3/4 × 2 in. (39.4 × 27.3 × 5.1 cm)
Frame: 17 1/2 × 12 5/8 × 1 5/8 in. (44.5 × 32.1 × 4.1 cm)

Mediumgilded and polychrome alabaster

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1969.230

Not on View

Description[case] England, Nottingham Scene from the Last Judgment Alabaster with paint and gilding, about 1460 Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, 1969.230

Label TextIn Christian Catholic belief, at the Second Coming of Christ, the dead will emerge from their tombs and be judged, sending them to heaven or hell. In this panel of the Last Judgment, Christ sits enthroned upon a rainbow with an orb, representing the world, at his feet. He is flanked by angels holding instruments used during his mocking and crucifixion, a lance and whip on the left, and a column and hammer on the right. Instead of the usual portrayal of the Resurrection of the Dead, with the dead rising from tombs or the earth, this panel depicts six diminutive, naked souls kneeling in prayer below Christ’s feet and awaiting final judgment. Kneeling on either side, Mary and Saint John the Baptist act as intercessors and recite prayers—represented by the scrolls emanating from their bodies--for salvation of the souls of the dead.Published ReferencesGillerman, Dorothy, ed., Gothic Sculpture in America, II: the Museums of the Midwest, Turnhout, Brepols, 2001, pp. 367-369, no. 267, repr. p. 368.

Putney, Richard H., Medieval Art, Medieval People: The Cloister Gallery of the Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 2002, p. 32, repr. (col.) fig. 21.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Réau, Louis, Iconographie de l'Art chrétien, 3 vols. Paris, 1955-1959, vol. 2, part 2, pp. 583 et seq., 727 et seq. (iconography). Cf. Gardner, Arthur, A Handbook of English Medieval Sculpture, Cambridge 1937, p. 329 et seq. (dating and attribution). Cf. Stone, Lawrence, Sculpture in Britain, The Middle Ages, Harmondsworth, 1955, pp. 180 f., 189 et seq. (dating and attribution). Cf. Cheetham, Francis W., Medieval English Alabaster Carvings the Castle Museum, Nottingham, Nottingham, 1962, pp. 3-6, 11-12 (technique, dating, and attribution). Cf. Cheetham, Francis, "Export Art of the Middle Ages, English Alabasters," Country Life, vol. 147, no. 3800, January 1, 1970, pp. 36ff. (Good general summary. Also illustrates Trinity panel of Swansea altarpiece).