Trinity Altarpiece

Executed in oil on wooden panels, the work exhibits the detailed surface treatment characteristic of Netherlandish painting. Fine brushwork renders the textures of fabrics, armor and clouds, while a restrained palette of earthy tones unifies the three sections. The handling of light and spatial arrangement reflects the influence of Hugo van der Goes and his workshop.

The panels were likely painted after drawings sent from Scotland, possibly involving the future James IV, who would have been about five years old at the time.

Attribution to Hugo van der Goes, with assistance from his studio, is now widely accepted. The panels were likely painted after drawings sent from Scotland, possibly involving the future James IV, who would have been about five years old at the time. A 1516 inventory records the work as a "burd" on the high altar of Trinity Church. The central panel appears to have been destroyed during the 1560 Scottish Reformation, but the wings survived.

The altarpiece is one of the few surviving examples of pre‑Reformation religious art in Scotland. Its inclusion of a portrait of cleric Edward Bonkil, identified through heraldic devices, links the work directly to Trinity College Kirk. The presence of royal figures suggests a commission intended to emphasize the patronage of the Scottish crown.