The Trinity
Medium
oil on wood
Dimensions
unframed: 114.6 × 73.9 cm · framed: 134 × 107 × 7 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Accession Number
1996.26
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
This vividly colored altarpiece was made in Antwerp, the center of religious learning in Catholic Flanders. In the mid-1500s when the Catholic Church mounted a defense against the spread of Protestant reforms, known as the Counter-Reformation, it encouraged the production of religious images that promoted Catholic doctrine, offering opportunities for artists like Rubens, Van Dyck, and Van Balen. Van Balen’s painting depicts the traditional theme of the Trinity, with God the Father holding the de...