Facts: Rublev and the “Trinity”
The Russian monk and painter Andrei Rublev was born around 1360 in Moscow and painted a large number of frescoes and icons for the Russian Orthodox Church in his distinctive calm style.
Little is known about his life, but his art is considered the pinnacle of Russian painting in the Middle Ages.
Rublev’s most famous work is “The Old Testament Trinity”, or simply “The Trinity”, and was probably executed shortly before his death in the late 1420s for the Trinity Monastery outside Moscow.
Since 1929, the religious painting has hung in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Source: NE
When Patriarch Kirill led the service in Moscow on Sunday, the 15th century painting was centrally located in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
The painting, a Russian national treasure, was moved after the Russian Revolution in 1917 from a monastery outside Moscow to the Tretyakov Gallery – where it has had its permanent residence ever since.
Putin’s decision to lend the painting to the church has been controversial. Museum curators have warned that the painting is far too fragile to move, claiming it requires constant care to preserve it.
At the center of the controversy is Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who supports Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
When a high-ranking priest agreed with the museum’s objections, he was poked by the patriarch. On Saturday, he said the painting will remain in the cathedral for a year and then be taken to the Trinity Cathedral outside Moscow – despite the Russian Ministry of Culture and the Tretyakov Gallery saying the museum will get it back in two weeks.
The concern over the work’s well-being is based, among other things, on the 60 or so negative changes that were found on the painting when it was loaned for just a few days last year to the Trinity Cathedral, the monastery where the painting hung before the revolution.
The lending is seen by several observers as a way for Putin to strengthen ties to the church.
Close-up of Rublev’s “The Trinity”.