From Wikipedia: The Trinity (also called, The Hospitality of Abraham) is an icon created by Russian painter Andrei Rublev in the early 15th century, the most famous of all Russian icons, and it is regarded as one of the highest achievements of Russian art. The Trinity depicts the three angels who visited Abraham at the Oak of Mamre (Genesis 18:1–8), 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. In Rublev’s icon, the form that most clearly represents the idea of the consubstantiality of the Trinity 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. 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. The wings of two angels, the Father and the Son, interlap. The blue colour of the Son’s robe symbolizes divinity, the brown colour represents earth, his humanity, and the gold speaks of kingship of God. The wings of the Holy Spirit do not touch the Son’s wings, they are imperceptibly divided by the Son’s spear. The blue colour of the Holy Spirit’s robe symbolizes divinity, the green colour represents new life. The poses and the inclinations of the Holy Spirit and the Son’s heads demonstrate their submission to the Father, yet their placement on the thrones at the same level symbolizes equality.






