The Trinity

Also known as: Holy Trinity

About the Artwork

Fundamental to Christian belief, the Holy Trinity refers to the three divine persons in God—God the Father, here depicted wearing a papal tiara, God the Son, crucified on the cross, and the Holy Spirit, represented as a dove. Juxtaposed with the Trinity's austere depiction are cherubim bathed in radiant red light, possibly influenced by stained glass windows that Girardin also designed in Lyon. God the Father wears a liturgical vestment, a sumptuous and bejeweled cope, or cape, fastened below the neck, typically worn by clergy for processional occasions. It is made of opulent crimson velvet with gold thread forming a large pomegranate pattern.

Exhibition history

Year in Review - Nineteen Hundred Sixty. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 30, 1960-January 1, 1961). Draped in Splendor: Renaissance Textiles and the Church. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 7, 2003-September 26, 2004). The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Cleveland, OH (June 9-August 20, 2006).

Quick Overview

Artist: Laurent Girardin (French, 1478)
Date: c. 1460
Medium: oil on wood
Dimensions: Framed: 134.5 x 114.5 x 8 cm (52 15/16 x 45 1/16 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 114 x 94.5 cm (44 7/8 x 37 3/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Medieval Art
Credit line: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Accession no.: 1960.79

Provenance

1897-1924: Camille Barrère (1851-1940), Rome, Italy, by descent to Mme. Albert Cousin 1924-: Mme. Albert Cousin (nee Barrère), by descent to Albert Cousin Albert Cousin -1960: (J. Seligmann & Co., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1960-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.