The Weighing of SoulsRogier van der Weyden

In this panel of the Last Judgment Altarpiece (c.1445–50), a soul crouches in terror as Archangel Michael’s scales determine his fate. The contorted expression conveys dread at eternal damnation, a striking example of Rogier’s psychological realism. For the sick at Beaune’s Hôtel-Dieu, such imagery urged confession and repentance before death, reinforcing the hospital’s spiritual mission of preparing souls for salvation.