OMG It's Harry Potter

In case you don't know, the latest movie of the Harry Potter series hits theaters next Friday. Last week, we were given an AP Art History project to create a tympanum. The goal was to create something similar to the arch over Romanesque church portals but with a modern theme. My partner Riley and I went against our teacher's suggestions and chose a Harry Potter theme. Rather go the obvious route of putting Harry in Christ's position, we went a little bit darker. Voldermort--the villain--is at the center of our arch. Like Christ, he is enthroned in a mandorla that is marked by a snake--his emblem. To his right (left of the picture) are his faithful followers, the Death Eaters. From left to right, Fenrir Greyback, Bellatrix LeStrange, Severus Snape, and Lucius Malfoy flank their "Dark Lord." As you can see, Riley drew Fenrir in a position that echoes the Etruscan sarcophagus figures.

To Voldermort's left are the people that fight against him, Harry, Dumbledore, Mad-Eyed Moody, and Arthur Weasley. By placing the "good" on Voldermort's right and the "bad" on his left models the saved and the damned of the Last Judgment tympanums.
The archivolts that surround the arch represent Voldermort's seven Horcruxes. These Horcruxes each possess a piece of his soul. The lintel that runs across the bottom has people that Voldermort has killed and other dark symbols on his right and other people that fought against him on his left. In the spare spaces, we attempted to draw snakes that are intertwining, much like they did with other animal forms during the Romanesque era.

The goal of or tympanum is to inspire fear, like the Last Judgment tympanums of the time. With Christ centered in his mandorla, he was often flanked by those saved to his right and those damned to his left. For the record, Riley and I both are definitely Team Potter, but we tried to do the not obvious Harry Potter choice to satisfy our teacher.