Theme of the Trinity got widespread at the turn of the 15th century when the idea of the God’s truinity was accepted as a symbol of unity. The Old Testament plot Abraham’s Hospitality is the basis of this icon. It’s a story when the arch father Abraham met three travellers/angels. During the dining in the Abraham’s house they promised he’d have a son Isaak. By God’s will Abraham was supposed to found a strong and great nation in which all Earth’s nations will be blessed.

This plot had different explanations, but in the 9th – 10th centuries the one prevailed. According to this version, the appearance of three angels to Abraham disclosed the image of a coessential God in three hypostases. Being the one by its nature, God is triune in his images: God the Father, the creator of all things, God the Son, descended from the Heaven to save humankind, God the Holy Spirit bringing life.
This icon was painted in the workshop of Georgy Shalavin and is one of three icons commissioned for the Edinoverie church in Savino village, Kurgan district. The contract made in 1906 confirms it. Georgy Shalavin came from the dynasty of icon painters from Kholuy villave in Vladimir Governorate. In 1880 young Georgy moved to Kargapolskoye village in Shadrinsky district. There he got married and started a family. Three of his children also became icon painters.

In the painting style Shalavin followed the tradition of Kholuy icon painting. Kholuy was a big centre of religious art delivering icons around the whole Central Russia. Most of the Kholuy icons were painted in a row and didn’t cost much. They had no features of high artistic merit and tended more to the cheap popular prints. The generalization and simplicity of painting the faces and clothes of angels, sketchiness of composition are clearly seen in the Trinity icon. Connection with the Kholuy heritage can be seen in the choice of colour combination. The icon is full of tones of orange, red and dark ochre on the contrast with green and dark blue. Colouristic tonedown comes from the semitones of ochre with brown. The palette of Kholuy icons was chosen according to such colouristic principle. But it would be unfair to speak about the direct borrowing and copying of the images and performing principles. The icon made by Shalavin is uniquely designed and filled with emotions with all its simplicity. He increased the power and brightness of blank spaces, which gave the icon a certain coldness and sharpness. One can’t but pay attention to the remarkably beautiful tone of tablecloth. In canonical icons it’s always white or golden.