The Trinity

The Trinity was a popular subject in alabaster reliefs produced in England in the fifteenth century - over seventy examples survive today. Such reliefs could be used individually for private devotion. Robert Campin's painting of St Barbara (Prado, Madrid) shows a Trinity carving hanging above a domestic fireplace. But the height of this panel, which is taller than other examples, indicates that it was probably the central panel of an alabaster altarpiece. The Swansea Altarpiece (A.89-1919) is a good example of a complete altarpiece with the same central subject. The four lower angels in this panel, which catch Christ's blood in chalices, provide an obvious parallel for the celebration of the Mass, while the upper pair, swinging censers to release incense, would also fit well in an ecclesiastical context.