"Holy Trinity"

Designed to be set on an altar, a vision of the Trinity dominates the work. The three figures line up vertically along the centre of the image, as the eight flanking angels emphasise the Trinity as a group entity – the Three-in-One.

We see God the Father with a grey beard, along with his crucified son Christ. Between them flies the Holy Spirit in the form of a Dove.   Botticelli has depicted Jesus as the crucified Christ, with nailed hands and feet

Christ wears a crown of thorns, as an elaborately designed halo emphasizes his title as Son of God.

God the Father sits on a throne, supporting the cross with his two hands.

Botticelli  pictured the Dove in between Christ’s head and the cross of wood. Just one wing is suggested behind Christ’s halo.

On the bottom left we see the figures of Tobias and the Archangel Raphael walking hand-in-hand. Raphael is pictured with billowing robes, carrying a small box while Tobias can be seen carrying a small fish, dangling from his hands.

Rays radiate from Tobias’ head, unlike the full halo that surrounds the archangel Raphael’s head. 
The story of Tobias comes from the Old Testament book of Tobit. Tobias is sent on a journey to Medea, where he is sent to collect a debt for his father Tobit, who is blind.
En route, Raphael instructs Tobias to gut a fish and collect its liver, heart and gall, which Raphael in turn rubs onto Tobit’s eyes and cures his blindness.

As such, this story of Tobias and the archangel Raphael became associated with healing and pilgrimage, often depicted within a landscape of rolling hills. The story remained a theme in Florentine art.

 Zooming out, we can sense the abrupt shift in scale of Tobias and the archangel Raphael in relation to the other depicted figures.

Flanking the Trinity on the right is St John the Baptist. He gazes out to the viewers, capturing their attention, recognizable through his fur garment. In Mark's Gospel, John the Baptist is described as 'clothed with camel's hair'.

His gesturing hands divert the viewer's attention to the Trinity, emphasizing its central importance in the altarpiece.
The presence of John the Baptist tells us a bit about the commission of this altarpiece.

John the Baptist was the patron saint of Florence in Italy, the city in which this altarpiece was painted and originally positioned.

Flanking the Trinity on the left we see Mary Magdalen,  with her hands raised in prayer. Her repentant attitude can be understood as a model example for viewers.    Her long flowing hair covers her body.

This altarpiece has been linked to the convent of Santa Elisabetta delle Convertite in Florence, a community of nuns who welcomed repentant prostitutes.  In line with this theme, Mary Magdalen was understood as one who abandoned a worldly life for one of penitence and devotion.

Both John the Baptist and Mary Magdalen are depicted within a barren landscape, calling to mind the desert into which they both retired to penance.

Angels (also known as cherubim) were often represented as a winged head, and were generally depicted as being in attendance of the other figures.

It is likely that the heads of these angels were painted by members of the workshop, in contrast to the main figures that exhibit Botticelli’s characteristic graceful line.

The angels surround the central vision of the Trinity, emphasizing the Trinity as the main subject of the altarpiece.