Allegory on the Christian Faith

On the right on the pedestal sits the personification of the Christian faith in the guise of an angel with a laurel wreath. Above her head the Holy Spirit floats. In her hands she holds several books from the Bible: Genesis, Isaiah, Zechariah, John and Revelation. Behind her a depiction of Christ with a crown of thorns, a cross and a snake that he tramples. Next to the angel sits a naked woman with a sun above her head as personification of light, the good. Her left foot rests on a composite capital. She wards off evil in the guise of an ugly woman with snakes and a smoking mouth. The ugly woman holds writings of Gnostic figures such as Simon Magus, Arius and Ebion. On the right a woman writes on a scroll titled Reformatio. Two putti on the right gather the rolls with titles of writings and events that according to Pictet formed the basis of the Christian faith. On the front of the pedestal stand the title and the author of the book.