- Plans
- The Architects of Notre-Dame
- Exterior Architecture
- Interior Architecture
- The Western Facade
- The North Facade and the Cloister Portal
- The Red Door
- The Saint Stephen Portal
- The Portal of the Virgin
- The Saint Anne Portal
- The Last Judgment Portal
- The Bells
- The Stained Glass Windows
- The Roof Structure
- The Spire
The Last Judgment
The Portal of the Last Judgment dates from the 1210s and was installed after the other two portals on the western facade. It represents, in the Christian iconography of the Middle Ages, God’s judgment when the soul of the deceased resurrects. According to Christian tradition, God will judge the living and the dead. The Gospel of Saint Matthew recounts Jesus’s words: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
The Archangel Michael
On the lower lintel, the dead resurrect and emerge from their tombs. Angels sound the trumpet. Among these figures are a pope, a king, women, warriors, and an African man. On the upper lintel, the Archangel Michael weighs souls, while two demons try to tip the scales. The elect are led to paradise (to Christ’s right) while the damned, chained and terrified, are led by other demons to hell.
A Celestial Hierarchy
On the tympanum, Christ in Majesty is seated in glory, showing the wounds on his hands and side. Two angels carry the instruments of the crucifixion: the lance and nails for one, the cross for the other. Mary and Saint John kneel on either side. As in the other portals, the heavenly court occupies the voussures: angels, patriarchs, prophets, doctors of the Church, martyrs, and virgins. Hell occupies the right side of the voussures. The wise virgins (to God’s right) symbolize the hope of gaining paradise, as they carry lit lamps, while the foolish virgins have extinguished lamps. At the center of the portal, on the trumeau between the two doors, Christ the Teacher stands on a pedestal.
The Apostles in the Jambs
The sculptures depict the twelve apostles on either side of the doors, in the jambs. On the left are Bartholomew, Simon, James the Lesser, Andrew, John, and Peter; on the right, Paul, James the Greater, Thomas, Philip, Jude, and Matthew. In 1792, revolutionaries destroyed these statues. At the feet of the twelve apostles, medallions represent virtues and vices, a theme also found in the stained glass of the western rose window.
Over the Centuries
The Portal of the Last Judgment underwent two significant modifications in the 18th century. The first was in 1771 when architect Germain Soufflot removed the trumeau and the central part of the two lintels to facilitate the archbishop’s wish for easier passage of the canopy during processions. An archway of wood depicting Mary, adorned with a crown held by two angels, replaced the void. Two doors replaced the heavy panels, one sculpted with Christ carrying his cross and the other with Maria Dolorosa, Mary weeping for her son’s death. The second modification was during the major restoration campaign in the 19th century. Architect Viollet-le-Duc restored the portal to its original state. He recreated the trumeau, the statues of the wise and foolish virgins, and the statues of the twelve apostles placed in the jambs.
