Image Details

Palazzo Ducale, Mantua, Italy/Superstock

The Holy Trinity: This detail from Gonzaga Family in Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), presents a typical image of the Christian Trinity. The Father, at right, holds a globe, symbolizing creation; the Son is seated at the right hand of God; and the Holy Ghost, a white dove, flutters between the Father and Son. The notion that a single godhead might have several aspects, each of which could be seperately represented, was found both in Hellenistic Judaism and in Christianity.