ISAIAH AND THE LESSER PROPHETS
Next to Jonah we see Isaiah, the enthusiast, prophesying the coming of Christ’s kingdom. Note how the light falls on the head and shoulders, and on the upraised arms of the prophet, and is echoed, so to speak, by the light on the lower folds of his robe. All lines and lights lead the eye upward, even as Isaiah sought to lift his people up into a higher, better world. He is the hopeful figure in this group of four.
Habakkuk stands next with his far-seeing eyes missing the heavenly visions which surround Isaiah, but seeing the sorrows and evils of the world and trying in vain to remedy them.
The next group to the right represents the three prophets of hope, Haggai, Malacchi, and Zechariah, all pointing toward the section of the wall where Mr. Sargent’s new painting, “The Sermon on the Mount,” will be placed when finished. The one doubtful figure, Micah, who is looking back, serves to hold this section of the picture to the other figures in the frieze.