PROPERTY FROM THE DON BENITO J. LEGARDA JR. COLLECTION

ABOUT THE WORK

by FLOY QUINTOS The relleve has much in common with a famous piece in the PAGREL collection, now in the San Agustin Museum, and with other relleves and icons depicting the Holy Trinity. The composition of these pieces features three identical men, consubstantial and indivisible, each bearing his insignium on his chest. Starting on the left, Jesus, with the Lamb. On God the Father, the sun with a human face. On the Holy Spirit, the dove with outstretched wings. The three are framed by a cartouche of clouds, on which float cherubs. The entire depiction is based on the vision of Abraham, who beheld the Lord as three identical men, sitting upon clouds, surrounded by heavenly hosts. In this particular relleve, the faces of the three are manly, virile, animated. Though they are identical, each has his own nuanced expression and gesture, which would have been all the more highlighted if the original polychromy had been preserved. This particular piece would have once been framed, though the fragmentary remains on the top and bottom edge of this relleve may also suggest it could have been part of a bigger frieze. The strong and robust style of this particular piece, and other similar relleves of the Trinity in private collections, point to a Bicol origin. But other regional depictions of the Santisima Trinidad are also known. In Panay. the Trinity is depicted,not as a relleve, but as a free standing sculpture, with the Trinity seated on a single base of clouds or on a globe. It is interesting to note that this depiction of the Trinity was quite controversial, so much so that the Church attempted to regulate its use. The depiction of three identical men seemed a most convenient and effective artistic solution that could communicate both the individuality and indivisibility of the great Triune God of Christendom. But Pope Benedict XIV sought to regulate the use of this powerful image, when he issued the "Sollicitudini Nostrae" in 1754. This Papal Bull classified the depictions of the Holy Trinity , first, into those "prohibited " for their monstrosity. (Ironically, these rare depictions showing the Trinity sharing one body and three faces , are a santo collector's Holy Grail.) "Tolerated" was the second classification in the Papal Bull, and that refers to the depiction we see in this relleve. The "Approved" and sanctioned depiction is the one we know today, with God the Father and, seated at his right, Christ the Redeemer. Between them, wings outstretched, floats the Holy Spirit, as a dove. Merely tolerated, the depiction of the Trinity as three identical men gradually fell from favor late in the 18th century. Only in the Philippines and in Latin America, (both colonies of Spain) did these depictions linger on until finally falling into disuse in the 19th century. What was it about the mystery of the Holy Trinity that made this particular image so accessible and easy to grasp? Despite the Papal Bull, the image of the Triune God as three identical men lived on in the Anting-anting and in the cult of nativist symbols. In the realm of indigenous re-imagining , the merely "tolerated" Santissima Trinidad found their place. In the native mythology, the Santissima Trinidad morphed into the powerful Tres Personas Solo Dios, a creation of the Pre-Hispanic Bathala, and the forbears of that most enigmatic of nativist heroes, Hesus Rizal. Thus, this rare relleve shows how art has subverted the dictates of dogma, allowing the merely "tolerated" to live on in these powerful and accesible images of native faith.