Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph

[2] Spence originally proposed a Crucifixion scene for the tapestry, and suggested Sutherland on the basis of his 1946 painting in St Matthew's Church, Northampton, influenced by Matthias Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece.

[4] The tapestry depicts a seated Risen Christ, within an oval mandorla on a green background, surrounded by the four living creatures mentioned in Chapter 4 of the Book of Revelation, which are also symbols of the Four Evangelists.

The composition also draws influences from Egyptian sculpture, Italian mosaic, and images of Christ Pantocrator in Greek and Romanesque churches.

[5] The face of Christ is bearded, and is deliberately made more human than divine: it is based on several sources, including photographs of cyclists in Paris Match magazine.

[4] Many of Sutherland's initial studies and sketches are held by the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry,[7] and the rest are in Basildon Park.

The second has Christ with arms stretched out to either side, and no mandorla, and three different panels at the base: an Annunciation, the Madonna, and St Michael fighting the devil.

The French weavers, unlike those in Edinburgh, were able to make the whole tapestry in one piece, with a weave count of 12 warps per inch, using a gigantic 500 year old loom.