The Holy Trinity

c. 1300/1350

A seated man wearing a long robe and a crown has a crucifix in his lap in this free-standing, cream-white, alabaster sculpture. In this view, the seated man’s body faces us, and his arms are broken off beyond the elbow. He has short, wavy hair and a trimmed beard. His almond-shaped eyes are blank, and his lips are closed. His robe is deeply pleated and hangs in a U shape between his knees. A bird in flight, facing downward, hovers at his throat over the head of the crucified man. That man’s extended arms are also partially broken, but he hangs with his head tilted down to our left. He has a halo behind his long hair, and his mouth drops open. He is nude except for a loincloth across his hips. The crowned man sits on a base with a shield on the front center, but this area is worn.

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On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 38

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    alabaster, with traces of polychromy

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 85.3 x 35.7 x 29.2 cm (33 9/16 x 14 1/16 x 11 1/2 in.)
    accessory size: 22 x 41 x 32 cm (8 11/16 x 16 1/8 x 12 5/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1953.2.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Schultz, Quai Voltaire, Paris), by c. 1920; Alfredo Barsanti, Rome, early 1920s;[1] Trinity group to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York), by 1944; base remained with Barsanti family in Rome; Trinity group sold 1944 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York, as English, fourteenth century; base given 1950 to NGA by Mario Barsanti, Rome, nephew of Alfredo Barsanti; Trinity group given 1953 to NGA.
[1] Mario Barsanti to Hanns Swarzenski, 9 August 1947, and to Perry Cott, 31 March 1950, in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1945

  • On loan to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1945-1953.

1946

  • Recent Additions to the Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1946, no. A-150.

Bibliography

1943

  • Douglas, R. Langton. Review of Medieval Art by Charles Rufus Morey. In AAM (31 October 1943): 204.

1945

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1945 (reprinted 1947, 1949): 172, repro., as English 13th Century.

1946

  • Douglas, Robert Langton. "Recent Additions to the Kress Collection." The Burlington Magazine 88 (1946): 85.

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R. Origins of Modern Sculpture. New York, 1946: 165, 157, fig. 126.

  • Frankfurter, Alfred M. Supplement to the Kress Collection in the National Gallery. New York, 1946: 8, repro.

  • "Princely Gifts to the Washington Gallery: Sculptures from the Kress Collection." Illustrated London News (9 February 1946): 161, repro., as Nottingham, fourteenth century.

1948

  • Swarzenski, Hanns. "Washington: Neuerwerbungen der Skulpturen Abteilung der National Gallery of Art." Phoebus 2 (1948): 38-39, fig. 2.

1949

  • Seymour, Charles. Masterpieces of Sculpture from the National Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1949: 12, 173, note 10, repro. 43-45.

1954

  • Pitman, Clement F. "Reflections on Nottingham Alabaster Carving." The Connoisseur 133 (June 1954): 220, fig. 1.

1955

  • Tavendar, Augusta S. "Medieval English Alabasters in American Museums." Speculum 30 (1955): 65.

1959

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 382, repro., as English School.

1962

  • The International Style: the Arts in Europe around 1400. Exh. cat. Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, 1962: 87, no. 84 (entry by Philippe Verdier).

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 153.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 137, repro.

1975

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 619, 622, fig. 950.

1976

  • Pope-Hennessy, John. "A Quota of Masterpieces." Apollo 104 (1976): 72.

  • Middeldorf, Ulrich. Sculptures from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools XIV-XIX Century. London, 1976: 120-121, figs. 201-204, as Spanish, late thirteenth or early fourteenth century.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 622, no. 957, repro., as English 14th Century.

1994

  • Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 79, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q63809355

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