Wednesday, October 15, 2014

An explanation of Andrei Rublev's Icon of the Old Testament Trinity

                                                             zlandrum.blogspot.com
 
    This picture is the depiction of the three mysterious visitors to Abraham and Sarah which is told in Genesis 18.  The three visitors are depicted as angels, signifying that they belong to heaven rather than earth.  You will note that their faces are essentially identical.  This represents the equality of the three persons of the Holy Trinity.  They are also shown as basically genderless.  Some sources identify them as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
     The one on the left - Father - wears a cloak of an indefinite color with pink, brown, and blue-green highlights.  That is symbolic of the impossibility of portraying God in visible form. It's hand could be pointing to the meat in the dish, or to the second figure (Jesus), or simply holding out one finger signifying that it is the first person of the Trinity.  Above this angel is a building, symbolizing the Church and worship of God.
     The angel in the middle - Son - is wearing a dark reddish purple tunic and a dark blue cloak.  Those are the customary garments found on Christ in many icons.  The reddish purple color symbolizes Christ's human blood which He shed for humanity and also indicates His royalty.  The blue signifies the mystery of His divine nature.  Above this angel is the Oak of Mamre mentioned in the Genesis account depicted.  The tree also symbolizes Christ's crucifixion.  Most icons of Jesus show a cross inscribed in his halo.  This one does not because the angel is only symbolic of Him, not an actual representation of Him.
     The angel on the right - Holy Spirit - is dressed in a green cloak, traditionally the color of life and renewal.  It wears a blue tunic indicating divine mystery.  Above it is a mountain.  Mountains symbolize the spiritual journey or the climb towards salvation. 
     Look at the basic form of this picture.  It is circular.  This unites the three figures in a flowing pattern.  A deliberate distortion of the natural visual perspective in which similar objects that are closer to the viewer are drawn smaller than ones which are further away is used here to pull the viewer into that circle.  (That technique is called 'inverse perspective.')
     On the table is a dish of meat which Abraham prepared for the guests.  It is the focus of the circular arrangement and symbolizes the Holy Eucharist.  On the front of the table is a small, rectangular hole.  That symbolizes the 'narrow door' to salvation mentioned in Luke 13:24
 
 
 
 

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