The Damned in TormentRogier van der Weyden

This detail from the Last Judgment Altarpiece (1445–50) intensifies the vision of damnation. Naked figures twist and collide as they plunge into dark flames, their limbs tangled in chaotic knots. Strained muscles and distorted faces display a studied range of terror and despair. For patients and caregivers at the Hôtel-Dieu, such visceral imagery sharpened awareness of sin, repentance, and the uncertainty of salvation.