The Holy Trinity

This panel was at the centre of one of the most important historical reconstructions in recent decades, which made it possible to identify the activity of a great but previously unknown artist, Antoine de Lonhy. A painter and illuminator, he created models for stained glass windows, and possibly also for embroideries and sculptures. Born in Burgundy, he moved to the Languedoc, and then to Spain and, lastly, to Piedmont, where he is known to have been active from 1462. The panel shows a fairly rare form of imagery, with the Father holding up the mutilated body of his Son, assisted by the Dove of the Holy Spirit. The chromatic subtleties, the monumental, sweeping design of the drapery, the accentuated sentimentality and the perspective structure of the architecture make this one of the most fascinating creations of the French Renaissance.