Focus on The Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Holy Trinity and analyze the Description and style.
The painting depicts an open-air scene in a gallery with, on the side, two rows of richly historiated, twisted columns and a balustrade in perspective. At the center of the gallery, on the left, are Vincenzo Gonzaga and his father Guglielmo Gonzaga behind him. On the right, on the first floor, is Vincenzo's wife Eleonora de' Medici. Behind her is the mother of the duke, Eleonora d'Austria. Both Guglielmo Gonzaga and his wife Eleonora were already dead by the time of the painting's making.
As much as it's possible to reconstruct the composition, the children of the ducal couple were represented on the sides (almost below the colonnade). The male children to the left, and to the right the female. On the left, therefore, were Francesco Gonzaga of Ferdinando Gonzaga and Vincenzo II Gonzaga, while on the right Margherita and Eleonora Gonzaga were depicted. Always on the sides of the painting were included some halberdiers, of the Swiss guards. One of them is a self-portrait of Rubens.: 84 When the painting was cut apart, the side sections were removed and reduced to pieces to extract the portraits of the children as paintings in their own right. These portraits where all divided (they are now found in various different places) with the exception of Eleonora Gonzaga. The only fragment referring to the future empress Eleonora is that of the little dog, which the girl was caressing (as testified in old descriptions of the work). Among the other identified fragments, there is also one of the halberdiers, although it is not the self-portrait of Rubens.
The entire family group is kneeling in prayer, while the Holy Ghost appears above. The composition's depiction of the ducal family is similar to sculpture groups by Leone and Pompeo Leoni at El Escorial that represent the family of Carlo V and Philip II of Spain. Rubens could have seen those sculptures during his diplomatic voyage to Spain in 1603 for Vincenzo Gonzaga.The choice of this resemblance is not casual, but is an explicit homage to the Spanish crown to reiterate the loyalty of the Gonzagas to the Hapsburg monarchy. The family also wears clothes of Spanish style, such as the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece worn by the Duke—an important honor conferred by the Hapsburgs as heirs of the Dukes of Burgundy. The presence of the Swiss guards are also ultimately references to the pro-Hapsburg stance of the Gonzagas.
In the painting's stylistic plan, however, Rubens draws on 16th century Venetian traditions. A little before beginning the cycle for the Jesuit church, Rubens had in fact completed a study trip to Venice. His composition recalls, in particular, so many group portraits of aristocratic Venetian families in prayer. One good example is the family Vendramin by Titian.  Rubens's painting also shows the influence of Paolo Veronese and Tintoretto. The chromatic ranges, the effects of the light, the open atmosphere, and the facial anatomy all refer to their precedents.
Nor does the painting lack references to Raphael: indeed, educational trips to Rome were one of the fundamental steps of the young Rubens. The twisted columns of the gallery are clearly examples of Raphael's drawing The Healing of the Lame Man. Their twisted design recalls those of the legendary Temple of Solomon, which according to ancient belief were brought to Rome and used to build the Basilica of Saint Peter.: 85  The reproduction of these columns in the painting might allude to how the coming of Christ is the improvement and verification of the Old Testament (since they symbolize the Solomonic columns).Near the top of the composition, a group of angels unrolls a golden tapestry on which the Holy Trinity is represented. This compositional choice has a single reason, it is a meditation in line with the severe dictates of the Council of Trent for religious depictions. According to those, a direct appearance of the divine to the laity would be inappropriate. Still, the Christ on the tapestry points to his father with his hand and the Duke clearly reacts to that gesture. In that way, the self-celebration of the work is revealed, as it divinely legitimizes Gonzaga's role as a sovereign.Finally, just beyond the balustrade, an ivy branch that seems to almost touch Eleonora d'Austria is visible. The branch is a tribute to the mother of the Duke and is linked to the intended location of the painting: the ivy appears, in the enterprise of the Archduchess of the Hapsburgs, as a symbol of conjugal devotion (since this plant can't live if separated from the tree to which it is attached). The tribute to the deceased mother of the Duke adds, perhaps, to the idea that her female virtues are an example to all the women of the Gonzaga family, united in adoration.
Ferdinando Gonzaga Guglielmo Gonzaga Vincenzo II Gonzaga halberdier Order of the Golden Fleece Raphael Eleonora de' Medici Eleonora Gonzaga Margherita El Escorial Tintoretto Carlo V Paolo Veronese Council of Trent Swiss guard Titian Francesco Gonzaga Basilica of Saint Peter Philip II of Spain Pompeo Leoni Leone