The Holy Trinity
XVII century. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
The Son bears the cross of his passion. He is semi-nude to show the wound in his side and sits to the right of God the Father, who is totally clothed and holds a scepter. The dove of the Holy Ghost hovers over their heads with outstretched wings.
This painting of the mystery of the Holy Trinity may also include a clear allusion to the ideas of the creation and redemption of the human race, both in the Father and Son´s gestures—they point to and bless the globe of the world held by angels in the lower part of the composition—and in the symbolism of Christ as Lord of sorrow, redeemer and intercessor for humanity.
The composition is distantly derived from an engraving by Dürer that was also used by Velázquez in his Crowning of the VIrgin (P1168). The author of the present work must have drawn the figures of the Father and Son from Velázquez´s canvas. He may also have know an engraving of Rubens´s Holy Trinity (Munich, Alte Pinakothek)
The children´s movements and playfulness and their unstable and likable manners contradict their severe facial expressions, provoking a relaxation that palliates the grave solemnity of the composition´s subject. They also bring dynamism to the scene with a markedly baroque sense that is, however, lacking in the other figures. The overall manner in which the paint has been applied, with very spongy patches of color, increases that sensation.