Andrei Rublev 1
MOVIES | Andrei Tarkovsky | 1966
Biographical History and Veneration
Andrei Rublev was a Russian artist, one of the greatest medieval painters of Orthodox Christian icons and frescoes. He lived from approximately 1360 to 1430, and though the specific location of his birth remains unknown, his life is closely associated with the Trinity Lavra of Saint Sergius and the Andronikov Monastery in Moscow.
His name first appears in historical chronicles in 1405, when he worked alongside the Byzantine master Theophanes the Greek and Prokhor of Gorodets to decorate the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin.
Rublev is regarded as a central figure in the Russian spiritual and cultural revival of the late 14th century and early 15th century. He was canonised as a Saint by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988, and he is commemorated as a Venerable Father and iconographer.
The Artistic Legacy of the Holy Trinity
The artistic style of Andrei Rublev represents a synthesis of high asceticism and the classic harmony of Byzantine mannerism. His characters are defined by a state of peace and calm, which eventually became the ideal for all subsequent Orthodox iconography.
The only work authenticated as entirely his creation is the icon of the Trinity, painted circa 1410. In this masterpiece, Rublev departed from traditional depictions of the Hospitality of Abraham by removing the figures of Abraham and Sarah to focus exclusively on the Mystery of the Trinity. This icon is the highest expression of Russian spirituality and provides a harmonious, colourful expression of complete serenity and humility. Following the Stoglavi Sobor in 1551, his style was promulgated as the definitive model for all church painting.
Cinematic Representation and Production
The life of the painter served as the basis for the 1966 Soviet epic film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and co-written with Andrei Konchalovsky. This work treats the artist as a world-historic figure and positions Christianity as an axiom of the historical identity of Russia.
The project was initiated in 1960, coinciding with a period when the Soviet government rediscovered the importance of Rublev as a cultural figure. The screenplay was developed over two years, drawing on medieval writings and chronicles, though much of the narrative is a creative invention due to the lack of biographical data regarding the historical Rublev.
Production took place between 1964 and 1966, involving one of the largest budgets in the history of the cinema of the era. Anatoly Solonitsyn was selected for the title role because his face possessed a great expressive power that could depict complex psychological processes. The film suffered extensive censorship during the Brezhnev era and was not released domestically until 1971. The work exists in several versions, with the 183-minute cut being the version endorsed by the director.
Structure and Narrative Content
The narrative is divided into eight episodes, a prologue, and a colour epilogue, covering the period from 1400 to 1424. The film depicts medieval Russia as a land defined by Tatar invasions, internal rivalries amongst princes, and widespread social atrocity.
The prologue features a man named Yefim who attempts flight in a rudimentary hot air balloon, symbolising the daring nature of human passion and the sacrifice required for creation.
The subsequent episodes follow Rublev as he wanders through the Russian landscape. In the first episode, set in 1400 , Rublev and his fellow monks Daniil and Kirill leave the Andronikov Monastery for Moscow. They witness a jester mocking the state and the Church before the performer is arrested by soldiers.
Later segments detail Rublev’s encounter with Theophanes the Greek and a theological debate regarding the nature of the Russian people and the significance of Christ’s Crucifixion.
In 1408, Rublev witnesses pagan rituals during Saint John’s Eve, where he is momentarily captivated by a pagan woman named Marfa. During a Tatar raid on Vladimir in the autumn of 1408, Rublev kills a soldier to protect a girl named Durochka, an act of violence that leads him to take a vow of silence and renounce his art in atonement.
The final narrative episode, occurring between 1423 and 1424, focuses on a young boy named Boriska who undertakes the casting of a great bronze church bell. Rublev observes the faith and tenacity of the boy, who claims to possess the secret of bell-making passed down from his father. When the bell successfully rings, Boriska confesses that his father never revealed the secret to him, an epiphany that inspires Rublev to break his silence and return to his vocation of painting icons.
Philosophical Themes and Symbolism
The film is a deeply religious work and functions as an Act of Faith and a moral act. It investigates the connection between the personality of a creator and the times in which he lives.
A central philosophical construction of the film is the monastic practice of Hesychasm, which involves constant prayer and reflection to approach the Divine. Rublev acts as a witness to the world, and his internal journey is one of purification through the empathy and compassion he feels for the people he meets.
Elemental motifs such as earth, air, fire, and water appear throughout the work to represent the natural world. Horses are a recurring symbol representing the beauty of God’s creation and the source of the art of Rublev. The presence of milk in several scenes signifies a nourishing element and spiritual purity.
The film addresses the Seven Deadly Sins, particularly envy, as seen in the character of Kirill, whose jealousy of the talent of Rublev leads to his own spiritual downfall. The violence depicted in the film, such as the Tatar raid, serves to illustrate the physical and spiritual collapse from which the serenity of the art of Rublev emerges.
Technical Aesthetic and the Use of Colour
The visual language of the film is characterised by long tracking shots and slow-moving camera work intended to create an impression of stillness. The cinematography by Vadim Yusov captures the crude facets of violence as well as the meditative state of the protagonist. The majority of the film is shot in black and white to represent the everyday reality of the life of Rublev, where colours are not consciously noticed.
The transition to colour occurs only in the epilogue, which features a montage of the actual icons of Rublev, including the Trinity and Christ the Redeemer. This shift into colour signifies a move out of time and into the eternal diegesis of the artwork itself. Great art is shown to be born out of utmost difficulties and sacrifices. Following the colour epilogue, the film concludes with the image of four horses standing in thunder and rain, a recurring theme that signifies hope and the persistence of life.
The sounds within the film are meticulously constructed, often starting with ambient noises like dripping water or the movement of nature, which then evolve into complex musical themes by Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov. The successful ringing of the bell at the conclusion serves as a symbol of the spiritual reunification of the Russian people and the resonance of the Divine. Through this synthesis of image and sound, the work provides a profound meditation on the development of an artist and the necessity of faith in the secular world.
In the same way that a bell is forged in a pit of clay and fire to produce a clear and holy sound, the soul of the artist is forged in the muck and violence of history to produce a vision of eternal serenity.