The film is loosely based on the life of Andrei Rublev (1370-1430), the great 15th-century Russian icon painter and is set during the turbulent period following the Mongol invasion of Russia. Andrej is a young monk, a iconographer, wandering to look for a job around churches and monasteries in Russia. He is convinced that in his life there is only space for art and religion. When the city where he lives and works, Wladimir, is sacked, Andrej witnesses a violence beyond words. He also finds himself obliged to kill to defend a girl from a foreign soldier. Shocked by all these events, he isolates himself and refuses to paint again. He will paint again when he understands that the aim of art is not only to satisfy the artist. Through the character of Rublëv, Tarkovskij reflects on the role of the artist in an oppressive society.