There are numerous Old Testament Trinity icons across the globe from different times but Andrei Rublev's visual interpretation of the holy trinity can be considered one of the most popular paintings. Andrei Rublev's The Trinity, was painted in the 15th
century between 1411 to 1427 with the exact date or year being unknown. The 142cm by 114cm painting was painted in Russia and is currently located at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Andrei Rublev used egg tempera medium (Hughes, 83-90). The painting shows three angels seated at a table and there is a cup with a head of a calf in it. The background of the painting entails: a house, a tree and a mountain. There is no motion in the painting and the angels are positioned in such a way that they seem to form a circle. Each angel is wearing a different attire. The angel on the right wears a blue garment with a green robe, the angel at the center wears a brown garment and a blue cloak and the angel seated on the left wears a garment whose color changes with light and seems transparent. There is light around their heads.
Analysis
The icon is based on a story from the Bible, in the book of Genesis where Abraham was seated by the oak of Mamre and saw three men before him. He invited them in and served them a meal while he held a conversation with them. As he talked to them he felt as though he was talking to God himself and that the three angels were a representation of the holy trinity, which consisted of the father (God), the son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit.
Interpretation
The left angel depicts God, the angel at the center is Jesus Christ. The cup is blessed by God before being passed on to Jesus who is seen to bow. This shows the link of the holy trinity where they are interrelated. The oak is directly behind Jesus and it represents the tree of life, and it is symbolic of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Andrei Rublev used a Russian style where new paintings were coated with a unique drying agent. The drying agent was meant to protect the painting from extreme damage and intensify the colors. The painting was severely damaged after a few centuries and had to be painted afresh within the old contours. The restoration work makes the painting held at the gallery appear almost like it was many centuries ago. Most of his paintings are associated with Moscow artistic school. The Trinity was until 1904 hidden under a golden Riza (Hughes, 89).
Judgment
The painting left out Sarah and Abraham who hosted the three angels and this was a source of controversy during his time as many thought his art was not in accordance with the fear of God. After his death, his work redefined the view of the Holy Trinity and he became one of the biggest art inspirations. The monastery in which he died was saved from destruction and was turned into the Rublev museum.
In my opinion, the Trinity is a very iconic icon, it did not conform to the paintings at that time that depicted Abraham and Sarah's hospitality to the angles and instead chose to focus on the three angelic figures and created an identity for each one while still showing the interrelationship between the three angels.
Work cited
Hughes, Lindsey. “Inventing Andrei: Soviet and Post-Soviet Views of Andrei Rublev and His Trinity Icon”. Slavonica, vol 9, no. 2, 2003, pp. 83-90. Maney Publishing. Doi: 10. 1179/136174203790108224.
