Medieval Russian icon painting

Andrei Rublev

Andrei Rublev was a monk and icon painter whose name became synonymous with the golden age of medieval Russian painting. His Trinity fuses strict Byzantine canon with a softness of line and inner calm unprecedented for its time — widely considered the summit of the icon-painting tradition.

Back to library View chronology

c. 1360-1428 · icon painter and monk of the Trinity Lavra

Rublev was canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church; his manner became the benchmark for generations of icon painters that followed, and the Trinity remains a central treasure of the Tretyakov Gallery.

Creator story

Surprising fact

The icon depicts the three angels who visited Abraham at the oak of Mamre — a scene Rublev transformed into an image of the Holy Trinity: three equal figures forming one unbroken circle.

Source: Wikipedia / Wikimedia

One of the few medieval Russian icon painters whose name is confirmed by chronicles.
Canonised as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Trinity was hidden for centuries under darkened varnish and later overpainting, only fully uncovered by restorers in the 20th century.