Other articles where The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is discussed: Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Patronage of Innocent X and Alexander VII: …point is his sculpture of The Ecstasy of St. Teresa (1645–52), a depiction of a mystical experience of the great Spanish Carmelite reformer Teresa of Ávila. When we look at the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini we have to consider the entire space of the chapel. The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. The sculpture was commissioned by a Venetian Cardinal and was completed in 1652. Book Selection. Subject - Teresa of Ávila; Canonized (aka made a saint by the church) Lived in 16th century Spain at the height of the Reformation; St. Teresa is having a vision of an angel telling her to come worship god; Cornaro Chapel Grouping of the patrons aka Cornaro family sculpture displayed to the left of St. Teresa's central sculpture Ecstasy of Saint Teresa of Avila, 1647-1652, sculpture in marble and gilded bronze by Gian Lorenzo Bernini , Cornaro Chapel, Church of Santa Maria... 'St Teresa of Avila before the Cross', c1621-1663. It currently rests in Santa Maria della Vittoria Church in Rome, Italy. Today I am going to talk about a masterpiece in Art (and not only for the Baroque Style): Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (Estasi di Santa Teresa in Italian). (Public Domain) Saint Teresa of Ávila was a 16th-century Catholic nun. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, 1647-52 (Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome) This is Saint Teresa’s description of the event that Bernini depicts: Beside me, on the left, appeared an angel in bodily form…. The Ecstasy of St. Theresa is considered by many as the apogee of Bernini's oeuvre and is notable for the following qualities; Bernini's St. Theresa is often described as a gesamtkunstwerk (a German word meaning "total work of art") for the artist's incorporation of a variety of elements: sculpture, painting, and lighting effects all presented in a theatrical setting. Renaissance: Italy. Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\). Teresa of Avila , was a Spanish mystic and saint who reformed the Carmelite order. Located above the altar of the Cornaro Chapel in Rome’s Santa Maria della Vittoria, Bernini’s The Ecstasy of St. Teresa represents an episode from the life of the saint as recorded in her spiritual autobiography.Teresa describes an angel carrying a fire-tipped spear with which he pierces her heart repeatedly, an act that sends her into a state of spiritual rapture. Despite this, it is mounted against a wall, preventing the viewer from getting a full, all-around view of the work. The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is a subtraction sculpture in the round of the Baroque period. Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome. Hi everyone and welcome back! “Ecstasy of Saint Teresa,” 1647–1652, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Bernini was considered one of the great sculptors of his day. The chapel is called the Cornaro Chapel, after the Cornaro family who controlled it and commissioned Bernini to sculpt Saint Teresa. The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is a white marble sculpture that was created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Saint Teresa's love of God and her desire for spiritual union with him found expression in a vision in which an angel pierced her heart with a golden spear and sent her into a trance.