The Holy Trinity from the parish church in Krosno
Author: Author unknown
Date of creation: around 1520
Dimensions: height: 186 cm, width: 113 cm, depth: 35 cm
Technique: wooden carving, painting, gilding
The sculpture depicts several figures. The largest one is a seated bearded God the Father in a golden cloak. He holds a cross in front of him with the body of Christ nailed to it. From under God the Father’s cloak emerge busts of three cherubs. The surface of the sculpture is full of cracks, abrasions, and unevenness. The colours are vivid. In the museum, the work is placed on a wooden pedestal.
God the Father is a middle-aged man. He wears a triple crown, the so-called tiara, on his head. It consists of three gilded diadems arranged in tiers. The lowest has the largest diameter, the highest – the smallest. From the centre of the highest one a semicircular grey cap emerges. The diadems are decorated with leaf-shaped carvings and precious stones in the shape of rectangles and rhombuses. God the Father has thick black hair. It flows in waves down to his shoulders. He wears a lush black beard reaching chest. His forehead is lined with deep furrows. The wide dark eyebrows are slightly raised above large brown eyes which stare sadly into the distance. The nose is straight and the cheekbones very prominent. His cheeks are tinted with pink. Red lips poke out from among the thick beard. A large golden cloak covers the entire figure of God the Father. The fabric of the cloak is arranged in folds. On the knees and at the bottom edge it is turned inside out, revealing the black underside.
From the wide sleeves poke out hands with slender fingers. They hold the crucifix facing the viewer. It starts at the bottom and reaches the Father’s chest.
The almost naked body of Christ on the cross is about half the size of the Father. Streams of blood ooze from his nail-pierced hands and feet. His head tilts to the right side. Jesus has long brown hair. He wears a crown woven from thorn branches. Blood oozes from under it, flowing down his neck and chest. Christ’s eyes are closed, his blackened lips are parted. His brown beard reaches his collarbones. His chest is painfully, strongly bent forward. On its right side gapes an open wound with a stream of blood. It flows down through his hips, covered with a golden loincloth, to his legs. The crossbeam of the cross is unusually bent into a wavy line. Its surface is decorated with leaf-shaped patterns.
The cherubs emerging from under the cloak of God the Father are shown as long-haired young men. One is in the centre, just behind Christ’s feet. The other two are to the right and left of the cross. The cherubs wear golden robes. They rest their hands on the base of the sculpture. In the cherub to the left of the cross, the hands are clearly visible. In the cherub to the right, they are broken off.
