Andrei Rublev
Revered amongst Iconographers as the most gifted Iconographer of all time, Andrei Rublev stands out amongst Iconographers for his ability to convey a subtle sense of spirituality with a highly expert ability to compose and paint Icons that address the issues of his time.
Born in medieval times, sometime in the 1360’s, not much is known about his life. He is generally thought to have lived at the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra near Moscow. Rublev’s spiritual teacher, Saint Sergius of Radoneh, was the head of this Lavra until his death in 1392.
In 1405, Rublev decorated the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow with frescoes and Icons along with Theophanes the Greek, who was Rublev’s teacher.
Holy Trinity Cathedral
The Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir and Holy Trinity Cathedral are thought to have been decorated by Rublev and Daniil Cherni at about 1425.
Rublev’s great masterpiece, The Icon of the Holy Trinity, is the only work definitely attributed to him. It was only discovered in the early 1900’s when an art restorer in Russia began to clean away the soot and grime that had blackened the surface for centuries.
The power of this Icon was observed and caused crowds of people to come and see it. I write more about this in my book, “Eyes of Fire, How Icons Saved My Life As An Artist”.
Rublev’s art combined asceticism with the classic harmony of Byzantine mannerism. His Icons are seen today as ideals of Eastern Orthodox Iconography.
If you’d like to read more about the Byzantine approach to painting Icons with egg tempera, this is covered in the book, Eyes of Fire, in the Appendix.
In 1966 a now classic film was made by the Russian film maker, Andrei Tarkovsky, called “Andrei Rublev”. It’s a dark Russian drama that conveys a sense of the medieval times of Rublev and is in black and white.
Rublev died in 1430, clothed as a Russian Monk and canonized by the Orthodox Church in 1988.
American Association of Iconographers 