The Trinity (, also called The Hospitality of Abraham) is an icon created by Russian painter Andrei Rublev in the early 15th century. It is his most famous work and the most famous of all Russian icons,Аверинцев, С. С. "Красота изначальная." Наше наследие 4 (1988): 25–26. and it is regarded as one of the highest achievements of Russian art.Дружкова, НАТАЛИЯ ИВАНОВНА. "современные визуально-коммуникационные средства в преподавании теории и истории изобразительного искусства [Электронный ресурс]." Педагогика искусства: электрон. науч. журн. Учреждения Рос. академии образования «Институт художественного образования 1 (2014). Scholars believe that it is one of only two works of art (the other being the Dormition Cathedral frescoes in Vladimir) that can be attributed to Rublev with any sort of certainty.
The Trinity depicts the three angels who visited Abraham at the Oak of Mamre (), but the painting is full of symbolism and is interpreted as an icon of the Holy Trinity. At the time of Rublev, the Holy Trinity was the embodiment of spiritual unity, peace, harmony, mutual love and humility.
The icon was commissioned to honour Saint Sergius of Radonezh of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius monastery, near Moscow, in the town of Sergiyev Posad. Little is known about The Trinity'''s history, and art historians make suggestions based on only the few known facts. Even the authorship of Rublev has been questioned. Various authors suggest different dates, such as 1408–1425, 1422–1423 or 1420–1427. The official version states 1411 or 1425–27.
The icon was moved in 2022 under the direction of the Russian government back to the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. Curators have warned that moving The Trinity risks damaging it as it requires a precise temperature and humidity. Before this, the icon had been kept at the Tretyakov Gallery since 1929. In 2023, the icon was, despite these objections, transferred to the custody of the Russian Orthodox Church and put on display at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, in 2024 the icon was transferred to Old Katholikon of the Trinity Lavra in Sergiyev Posad.Икону "Троица" установили в Троицком соборе на ее историческом месте. РИА Новости, 23.06.2024.
DescriptionThe Trinity was painted on a vertically aligned board. It depicts three angels sitting at a table. On the table, there is a cup containing the head of a calf. In the background, Rublev painted a house (supposedly Abraham's house), a tree (the Oak of Mamre), and a mountain (Mount Moriah). The figures of angels are arranged so that the lines of their bodies form a full circle. The middle angel and the one on the left bless the cup with a hand gesture. There is no action or movement in the painting. The figures gaze into eternity in the state of motionless contemplation. There are sealed traces of nails from the icon's riza (metal protective cover) on the margins, halos and around the cup.
Iconography
The icon is based on a story from the Book of Genesis called Abraham and Sarah's Hospitality or The Hospitality of Abraham (§18). It says that the biblical Patriarch Abraham 'was sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day' by the Oak of Mamre and saw three men standing in front of him, who in the next chapter were revealed as angels. 'When he saw them, Abraham ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.' Abraham ordered a servant-boy to prepare a choice calf, and set curds, milk and the calf before them, waiting on them, under a tree, as they ate (). One of the angels told Abraham that Sarah would soon give birth to a son.
The subject of The Trinity received various interpretations at different time periods, but by the 19th–20th century the consensus among scholars was the following: the three angels who visited Abraham represented the Christian Trinity, "one God in three persons" – the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. Art critics believe that Andrei Rublev's icon was created in accordance with this concept. In his effort to uncover the doctrine of the Trinity, Rublev abandoned most of the traditional plot elements which were typically included in the paintings of the Abraham and Sarah's Hospitality story. He did not paint Abraham, Sarah, the scene of calf's slaughter, nor did he give any details on the meal. The angels were depicted as talking, not eating. "The gestures of angels, smooth and restrained, demonstrate the sublime nature of their conversation". The silent communion of the three angels is the centre of the composition.
In Rublev's icon, the form that most clearly represents the idea of the consubstantiality of the Trinity's three hypostases is a circle. It is the foundation of the composition. At the same time, the angels are not inserted into the circle, but create it instead, thus our eyes can't stop at any of the three figures and rather dwell inside this limited space. The impactful center of the composition is the cup with the calf's head. It hints at the crucifixion sacrifice and serves as the reminder of the Eucharist (the left and the right angels' figures make a silhouette that resembles a cup). Around the cup, which is placed on the table, the silent dialogue of gestures takes place.Аудиоэкскурсия по Третьяковской Галерее // «Троица» Рублева. Текст Л. Нерсесяна
The left angel symbolizes God the Father. He blesses the cup, yet his hand is painted at a distance, as if passing the cup to the central angel. Viktor Lazarev suggests that the central angel represents Jesus Christ, who in turn blesses the cup as well and accepts it with a bow as if saying "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will". ()Лазарев В. Н. Андрей Рублев и его школа. М.,1966. С. 61–62 The nature of each of the three hypostases is revealed through their symbolic attributes, the house, the tree, and the mountain. The starting point of the divine administration is the creative Will of God, therefore Rublev places Abraham's house above the corresponding angel's head. The Oak of Mamre, above the figure representing Jesus, can be interpreted as the tree of life, and it serves as a reminder of Jesus's death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection, which opened the way to eternal life. Finally, the mountain is a symbol of the spiritual ascent, which mankind accomplishes with the help of the Holy Spirit. The unity of the Trinity's three hypostases expresses unity and love between all things: "That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." ()
The wings of two angels, the Father and the Son, overlap. The blue of the Son's robe symbolizes his divinity, the brown represents earth, his humanity, and the gold suggests the kingship of God. The wings of the Holy Spirit do not touch the Son's wings, but are imperceptibly divided by the Son's spear. The blue of the Holy Spirit's robe symbolizes divinity, the green represents new life. The Holy Spirit and the Son bow their heads in submission to the Father, yet their placement on thrones at the same level symbolizes equality.Гуляева, Е. Ю. "«ТРОИЦА» АНДРЕЯ РУБЛЕВА-ВЕЛИЧАЙШЕЕ ДОСТИЖЕНИЕ РУССКОГО ДУХА." Ежемесячный научный журнал № 6/2014. http://social-scope.ru/files/ARHIV/29-30.12.2014/scope_6_december.pdf#page=33
The rizas
According to Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius records as of 1575, the icon was "covered with gold" at the order of Ivan the Terrible, i.e. a golden riza was commissioned by him and added to the icon. The golden riza was renewed in 1600 during the tsardom of Boris Godunov. A new riza copied that of Ivan the Terrible, while the original was moved to the new copy of The Trinity painted specifically for that purpose. In 1626 Michael I ordered golden tsatas with enamel and gemstones to be added to the riza. In the 18th century the gilded silver stamped angel attires were added. Another copy of the riza was made in 1926–28. Both copies are now kept in the Trinity Lavra's Trinity Cathedral iconostasis.
Dating and provenance The dating of The Trinity is uncertain. There is not much historical data on the subject, and even at the beginning of the 20th century historians did not dare to claim any facts and could only make guesses and assumptions. The icon was first mentioned in 1551 in The Book of One Hundred Chapters, the collection of Church laws and regulations made by the Stoglavy Synod. Among other things, The Book stated the Synod's decisions that had been made about the iconography of the Holy Trinity, in particular the details that were considered canonically necessary for such icons, such as crosses and halos.
... the icon painter [has] to paint icons from the ancient examples, as did the Greek icon painters, and as did Rublev and other predecessors...()
It is evident from this text that participants of the Stoglavy Synod were aware of some Trinity icon which had been created by Andrei Rublev and which, in their opinion, corresponded with every church canon and could be taken as a model example.А. Никитин. Загадка «Троицы» Рублева. (Первая публикация: Никитин А. Кто написал «Троицу Рублева»? // НиР, 1989, № 8–9.)Стоглав. Изд. Д. Е. Кожанчикова. СПб., 1863, с. 128
The next known source that mentions The Trinity is The Legend of the Saint Icon Painters () compiled at the end of 17th century—the beginning of the 18th century. It contains a lot of semi-legendary stories, including a mention that Nikon of Radonezh, the pupil of Sergius of Radonezh, asked Andrei Rublev "to paint the image of the Holy Trinity to honour the father Sergius".The Legend on Saint Icon Painters: "Преподобный отец Андрей радонежский, иконописец, прозванием Рублев, многая святыя иконы писал, все чудотворные. Яко же пишет о нем в Стоглаве святого чудного Макария митрополита, что с его письма писати иконы, а не своим умыслом. А преже живяше в послушании у преподобного отца Никона Радонежского. Он повеле при себе образ написати святыя Троицы в похвалу отцу своему святому Сергию Чудотворцу". This late source is viewed by most historians as unreliable. However, due to lack of other facts, this version of The Trinity's making is generally accepted. The question of when the conversation with Nikon occurred remains open.
The original wooden Trinity Church, located on the territory of the Trinity Lavra, burned down in 1411, and Nikon of Radonezh decided to build a new church. By 1425 the stone Trinity Cathedral was erected, which still stands today. It is believed that Nikon, who became the prior after the death of Sergius of Radonezh, sensed his forthcoming death, and invited Andrei Rublev and Daniel Chorny to finish the decoration of the recently built cathedral. The icon painters were supposed to make the frescos and create the many-tiered iconostasis.Святая Троица Андрея Рублева. Описание, история иконы But neither Life of St. Sergius, the hagiographical account of his life, nor Life of St. Nikon mention The Trinity icon, it is only written the decoration of the Cathedral in 1425–1427.
This dating is based on the dates of the construction of both churches. Nevertheless, art critics, taking into account the style of the icon, do not consider the matter resolved. Igor Grabar dated The Trinity 1408–1425, Yulia Lebedeva suggested 1422–1423, Valentina Antonova suggested 1420–1427. It is unknown if The Trinity was created during Rublev's peak of creativity in 1408—1420 or late in his life. Style analysis shows that it could have been created around 1408, because it is stylistically similar to his frescoes in the Dormition Cathedral (created roughly at the same time). On the other hand, The Trinity demonstrates firmness and perfection which was unmatched even by the best of Trinity Cathedral's icons painted between 1425 and 1427.