The Great West Window of the Second Coming of Christ
The last window is brilliant meditation on the twin appearances of Christ, his
first in the Nativity below, and his second, surrounding by the Zodiac signs symbolizing
all the cosmos, in the mandorla above. The four Gospels flank the trumpeting angels next to
the upper Christ, under which are the four rivers of Paradise. The window also serves as a
curtain call for the key figures of the Chapel as well. The entire scene is an evocation
of the final day, where the blessed will meet in the New Jerusalem.
Finally, this window functions as a “credits” of sort. Lining the bottom are
the different artists and skilled workers who constructed the building. On the left are
architects (holding a detailed and accurate plan of the current Chapel) and sculptors,
and on the right are glass-makers and organists.
