The Golden Calf is set high on a magnificent ruby pillar. Before it Moses is breaking the Tables of the Law; one fragment of which shows a Flemish inscription. Below, an idol is falling headlong from a precisely similar pillar. The kneeling figure in this scene is the Governor Aphrodisius, who was converted by the miracle; as is recorded in the apocryphal "Gospel of the Infancy." In the Massacre scene Queen Athaliah is represented by a conventional figure of the Virgo Coronata (with her Babe in her arms). The artist evidently had this figure in stock, and used it rather than take the trouble of producing something less incorrect. Near her there is a minutely depicted mediæval thatched house worthy of notice. So is the business-like callousness in the expression on the leading soldier's countenance. This window bears, as has been said, the date 1517, written 15017.
We are now in the choir, where our first window gives:
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Type Naaman washing in Jordan. |
Type Esau tempted by Jacob to sell his birthright. |
| —— | —— |
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Antitype Christ baptised in Jordan. |
Antitype Christ tempted by the Devil. |
All three Temptations are given, the first being in the foreground. The countenance of the Devil (as a respectable old man) is a marvellous study.
The second window in the choir is:
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Type The raising of the Shunamite's son. |
Type The Triumph of David (I Sam. xvii). |
| —— | —— |
|
Antitype The raising of Lazarus. |
Antitype The Triumphal Entry. |
The Shunamite's house is another bit of minute detail. Note the dishes on the shelf in front. Note also the magnificently gigantic head of Goliath borne by David on the point of the Philistine's own huge sword.