“Trinity” which is also called “Hospitality of Abraham” is an icon of the Holy Trinity, painted by Andrei Rublev in the 15th century. It is one of the most famous Russian icons, and also the most famous of his works. It is one of two (together with frescoes in Vladimir ) surviving works, which, according to scientists , authentically belong to him. It is now in one of the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery.
Andrei Rublev, whose “Trinity” is perceived by many as the very proof of the existence of God, was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988. Posthumously, he became the first canonized artist.
The famous icon “Trinity” by Andrei Rublev left the Tretyakov Gallery for the first time since 1917 and was transported to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra for two days on July 17, 2022.
Today, on July 19, 2022, “The Holy Trinity icon of St. Andrei Rublev has returned to the State Tretyakov Gallery and is now being studied by restorers. The museum added that: “There are no visible signs of deterioration in the condition of this most important work of ancient Russian art”. And after a detailed and comprehensive examination of the icon, a decision will be made on the timing of the return of the “Trinity” to the gallery’s exposition.
Andrei Rublev was born in the late 60s of the XIV century in the small town of Radonezh, not far from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Historians think that in his youth Andrei was a novice of this monastery, and then he took the rank of a monk. In 1380 during the Battle of Kulikovoin , Rublev was already a member of the princely artel of craftsmen, who moved from city to city and was engaged in the construction and decoration of churches. Like any medieval master, he did not sign his works, and his name was rarely mentioned in the annals. Nevertheless, careful research by historians of ancient Russian art suggests that he was a monk of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, for the Trinity Cathedral of which he painted his masterpiece
There are 2 opinions on the issue of dating the icon. It could have been painted for the wooden church of the Trinity Monastery, built by hegumen Nikon after the invasion of Edigey. In this case Scholars date the icon to 1412. But others determine the 20s. 15th century linking its origin with the stone cathedral of the monastery, founded in 1422. It is possible that Hegumen Nikon, who became the abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery after Sergius of Radonezh didn’t like that the newly erected white-stone Trinity Cathedral was not decorated with paintings. Anticipating his imminent death and wishing to complete the decoration of the cathedral during his lifetime, Nikon called for work Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny.
They were famous painters, “fair grandees, superior to all and perfect in virtue.” Their work consisted not only in painting the temple with frescoes, they also had to paint a large number of icons for a high multi-tiered iconostasis. During his lifetime, Hegumen Nikon wanted not only to see the temple decorated, but he also wanted to have an icon painted, which was to become the main monument “in praise of Sergius of Radonezh”
This board of the icon painter quickly became a model for all subsequent creators of images of the Holy Trinity and by 1551, the Stoglavy Cathedral announced that all future images must comply with it. In 1575, Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered to decorate it with a gold salary, which is also called a golden riza. A salary is an overhead decoration fixed on top of an icon painting, covering the entire icon board on top of the paint layer, except for a few significant elements. It closes the pictorial image, leaving open faces, arms and legs. Subsequently, the salaries were also changed by other kings, and the icon itself was updated in accordance with the ideas of the artists of those times.
How the public saw “Trinity” before 1904: salary plus darkened drying oil (photo collage).
The restoration of the original appearance of the work was taken up only by 1904. Here we can see the Icon in 1904 with the salary just removed. The original painting is hidden under a layer of writing from the late 19th century.
And a photo of “Trinity” after the completion of clearing Guryanov. 1904.
“Airy”, transparent colors, in which our contemporary often sees a special author’s intention, creating the color and atmosphere of Rublev’s “Trinity”, making the figures of angels thin and incorporeal are a consequence of restorations and renovations.
On the instructions of the Commission for the Protection of Monuments of Art and Antiquities of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, they returned to the restoration of the Trinity in 1918. At that time the icon was already significantly damaged and needed special storage, however, it was transferred to the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery only in 1929. During the war, in 1941, the Trinity was evacuated to Novosibirsk, and returned from the evacuation in October 1944.
Each year the Icon is transferred to the church on the feast of the Trinity, but in 2007 the Icon was taken to the building on Krymsky Val because it had been damaged during transportation and needed additional reinforcement.
Now the icon is stored in a special icon case and its condition is stable, but there are irreversible damages.
The Holy Trinity of Rublev is written according to a biblical story from the Old Testament, according to which three pilgrim angels came to Abraham with the good news: he will have a son who will become the progenitor of the entire Jewish people. But there are also many important references to all the key biblical points. The picture embodies a lot, while remaining quite simple.
The form that most clearly expresses the idea of the consubstantiality of the three hypostases of the Holy Trinity, in the Rublev icon, is the circle which is the basis of the composition.
On the Icon we see three angels gathered around the table, on which the sacrificial bowl stands, for a quiet, unhurried conversation.
Three angels are the embodiment of the one God. This is indicated by a number of important symbols. First, they are dressed in azure robes which symbolizes their unearthly essence. The prototype of the Father is an angel sitting in the middle. This is indicated by his regal purple robes decorated with clavius (vertical stripes from the shoulder to the bottom edge). The middle angel is determined not only by its central position, but also by its monumentality. The turn of the head and the bend of the right hand of the central angel express the imperious and powerful motor principle, which is the initial and decisive moment of the composition. But since each of the wanderers has scepters of power, one can speak of a trinity.
God the Son is symbolized here by the angel sitting on the right. His head is lowered most humbly, and his hand is closest to the bowl. if we recall the biblical phrase “And a branch will come from the root of Jesse, and a branch will grow from its root”, then it immediately becomes clear that the right angel personifies God the Son. Also according to Ulyanov, “… the right angel’s himation is girded from right to left. And according to Russian custom, on a dead man, clothes were fastened not on the right side, as in life, but on the left side, like on a woman.”
The third angel, located on the left, becomes the personification of the Holy Spirit.
The combination of blue and red is inherent only in the clothes of the middle and left angels symbolizing the dogma about the procession of the grace of the Holy Spirit, The contours and folds of their robes are fragile and weightless, the harmony of blue, cornflower blue, pale green, golden yellow colors is pure, behind their backs are wings, in their hands are thin staffs, and around their heads are luminous halos.
The image contains more than the divine wanderers. In the background, a church or an entrance to the house of Abraham is visible, and the silhouette of a tree which could be the tree of knowledge from the garden of Eden, and at the same time it could be the oak under which Abraham rested.
Looking more closely, you will be able to see a mountain, located in the upper right corner, that becomes a symbol of Golgotha, to which Jesus ascended with his cross. An ancient symbol of everything sublime, in the Bible, “mountain” is the image of “rapture of the spirit”, therefore the most significant events take place on it.
The icon “Trinity” by Andrei Rublev is inscribed in a circular composition. Italian artists of those times also inscribed groups of angelic entities in a circular composition for greater symbolism. But Rublev’s composition is strikingly different from the classical one. The circle is imperceptible at first sight, and looking at this work of art in more detail, it can be noted that everything here is inscribed in a circular structure, symbolizing the trinity, as well as eternity, infinity.
Even the heads of the angels are bowed, allowing the overall silhouette to organically form a single circle. It has long symbolized eternity, the vicious circle of human existence, from the birth of the world to the end, which becomes a new beginning. In the context of the three angels, it is also interpreted as a symbol of the trinity of the Christian God.
Many researchers draw attention to the fact that the “Trinity” was created during the period of confrontation between the Russian princes and the Tatar-Mongol yoke and pointed to the need for unity. Peace, harmony, and love, this is what Andrei Rublev called his contemporaries to. It was a call to unite all Russian people – a call based on a deep philosophical awareness of the structure of the world, the moral cohesion of people.
I hope you enjoyed this Icon as much as I did
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