The Weighing of Souls
2007 © Maxim Tabachnik
Archangel Michael Weighing SoulsGothic Arcades, Hôtel-DieuThe Damned in TormentChrist the JudgeGrotesque and Lion CorbelsStudents in the Hôtel-Dieu CourtyardCourtyard of the Hôtel-DieuThe Blessed Led to HeavenPortrait of Nicolas RolinLuis in the Courtyard of the Hôtel-DieuDragon Corbel, Great HallGuigone de SalinsThe Weighing of SoulsWedding CeremonyAngel with Donor ArmsSaint Eligius Healing the HorseThe Damned Cast into HellThe Virgin with Apostles Peter and JohnLuis in the Great Hall of the Hôtel-DieuChrist at RestPatron Inscription of the Sculle FamilySpire and Roofs

The Weighing of SoulsRogier van der Weyden

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In this panel of the Last Judgment Altarpiece (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.