
Trinity in an Apse
God the Father
Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows and with special assistance of Mrs. Frederick B. Adams, Sr., Mrs. Robert Charles, Mr. Laurens M. Hamilton, The Heineman Foundation, Mrs. Donald F. Hyde, Mrs. Jacob M. Kaplan
The Sunday Hours of the Trinity open, appropriately, with a large miniature depicting the Three Persons of the Trinity. God the Father, bearded and wearing a tiara, holds the world. He turns to Christ, who, dressed in a red robe, raises his right hand in a vow. The Holy Spirit, a dove perched upon his halo, holds the book upon which Christ places his left hand. Christ is pledging acceptance of his Father's decision to sacrifice him in order to ensure mankind's salvation. The three sit on a monumental throne set within an elaborately vaulted and glazed apse. In the smaller miniature, God the Father is enthroned. Grapes in the border allude to the Eucharistic wine and Christ's sacrifice.