The procession of men is on one side, that of women upon the other, both being marshalled into Paradise by Angels bearing crowns for the elect. These stand on each side of the sanctuary, symbolic of Heaven: "Beati misericordis, Beati qui persecutionem patientur propter justitiam."
Beginning with the Apostles, we see SS. Peter and Paul as the pillars of the Church and the two great preachers of Christianity. S. Matthew and S. John follow, accompanied by the rest of the twelve. Then come the Holy Martyrs, beginning with S. Stephen looking up at the "Son of Man seated on the right hand of God." S. Pothinus and S. Eustace lead the group of soldier martyrs, ended by S. Christopher bearing the Infant Christ upon his shoulders. Then follow the doctors of the Church: S. John Chrysostom, "the golden mouthed"; S. Jerome; S. Augustin, of Hippo; and S. Leo, said to be a portrait of M. Ingres. Of these I give slight sketches, as they seem to be peculiarly fine in expression.
The Bishops and Confessors follow, a notable figure for refinement and dignity being S. Nicholas with his three little chubby boys; S. Joseph bears the carpenter's rule instead of the palm, and a lily, emblem of chastity. Charlemagne, sainted, and S. Clodoald, his kingly robes being covered by the monk's habit, are followed by S. Roch, S. Francis of Assisi, S. Dominic, and a crowd of others it is impossible to mention.
Turning round we see first the Virgin-Martyrs, S. Cecilia bearing her harp, S. Ursula and her friends, S. Agnes, S. Geneviève, and S. Zita bearing her pitcher, one of the most beautiful of Flandrin's women. Interspersed, after the manner of the Ravenna mosaic, are palm trees dividing the groups. After the Virgins the Holy Women march along: S. Felicitas with her six little children is a charming group; S. Anne, old and feeble, walks with S. Elizabeth leaning on the boy S. John Baptist; S. Monica is alone, her son being amongst the doctors; S. Helena rests upon the cross, and is followed by the gentle Elizabeth of Hungary carrying bread, and S. Clotilde resting upon the shoulder of the young S. Clodoald.
The penitents follow: S. Mary Magdalen leading the group, S. Mary of Egypt, S. Thais burning her rich garments, and S. Pelagia trampling upon her worldly goods. The Holy Households follow: S. Eustache, S. Julian, and other heads of families who were converted by their wives, and whose children they dedicated to God.
Below the organ is the "Mission of the Church." S. Peter and S. Paul are teaching the nations. In the centre is an altar with the sacred monogram and a nimbed cross; S. Peter is on the left, holding the keys and preaching to the Western nations. A father and mother kneel at his feet and present their children that they, too, may be converted.
On the right is S. Paul, clasping his sword and announcing the glad tidings to the Eastern nations: Jews, Persians, Greeks, Arabians, and an African bearing his war arrows.
For beauty of form, purity of sentiment and spirituality, untainted by the least spark of sentimentality, which is the bane of most modern religious painting, this work of Flandrin's may be classed as the finest of our time. It is treated in the conventional manner; there is no intense realism such as we find in the work of Laurens, Lhermitte or Hitchcock, but neither is it inane, effeminate, or affected, as are the pictures of Ary Scheffer, Hesse, and a crowd of disciples of Overbeck and Cornelius. The latter called the frieze an example of a true Renaissance, and M. Ingres, who had helped his favourite pupil in analysing the details, looked upon it as a revival of true religious art, a vivification of the Old Masters. "Do you suppose it is to make copyists of you that I send you to copy the great masters? I wish you to get the juice of the plant and to plunder the bee." This Flandrin did. He studied the art of Memlinc and Van Eyck, of Fra Angelico and of Raffaello, but the feeling was his own. He went on his way calmly, thoughtfully working out his ideas in faith and prayer, scorning the world and indifferent to its inhabitants, and thus his painting is as instinct in religious sentiment as that of Angelico, while his mastery of drapery and his management of its folds are not surpassed by the Greeks themselves; indeed, he united Greek beauty of form with Mediæval purity of sentiment.