Andrei Rublev 1360-1430

1430 . 17 October 1428 also is considered to be

the greatest medieval Russian painter of Orthodox icons and frescoes.

Andrei dies at Andronikov Monastery on 29 January 1430 (this date is still questionable and 17 October 1428 is also commemorated).

It is not known where he was born. Andrei Rublev

probably lived in the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra near Moscow under Nikon of Radonezh, who became hegumen after the death of Sergii Radonezhsky (1392).

The first mention of Rublev is in 1405 when he decorated icons and frescos for the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Moscow Kremlin in company with Theophanes the Greek and Prokhor of Gorodets. His name was the last of the list of masters as the junior both by rank and by age. Theophanes was an important Byzantine master who moved to Russia, and is considered to have trained Rublev.

of the Trinity, ca. 1410 (shown at right), currently in

the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. It is based on an earlier icon known as the "Hospitality of Abraham" (illustrating Genesis 18). Rublev removed the figures of Abraham and Sarah from the scene, and through a subtle use of composition and symbolism changed the subject to focus on the Mystery of the Trinity.

In Rublev's art two traditions are combined: the highest asceticism and the classic harmony of Byzantine mannerism. The characters of his paintings are always peaceful and calm. After some time his art came to be perceived as the ideal of Church painting and of Orthodox iconography.

famous icon of the Trinity.