Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa: Baroque Masterpiece

Gianlorenzo Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa

Artist: Gianlorenzo Bernini
Date: 1647-1652
Location: Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome
Dimensions: 350 cm tall
Material: Marble
Style: Italian Baroque

The Cornaro Chapel: A Baroque Theatrical Masterpiece

Bernini's most emblematic sculptural work is undoubtedly the Cornaro Chapel in Santa Maria della Vittoria (1647-1652), commissioned by Cardinal Federico Cornaro. In this immersive environment, the viewer is drawn into a captivating interplay of suggestive relationships, becoming an active participant in a living representation.

Bernini was the first to undertake the unification of architecture, painting, and sculpture to form a magnificent whole, as noted by his biographer Baldinucci. This revolutionary approach highlights Bernini's conquest of a purely visual conception of the interrelationship between the arts.

Within this chapel, Bernini masterfully created a complete theatrical experience, transforming the space into a fixed stage. Here, Saint Teresa's convent cell is transposed to the very moment she experiences a mystical vision, enjoying supreme ecstatic union with Christ.

The Theatrical Elements of the Vision:

• The Stage: A convex architectural shrine, richly adorned with polychrome marble and warm gilt bronze. A proscenium arch (or valance) above the altar reduces the opening, framing the scene.
• The Actors: The sculpture of The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, poised in the midst of its interpretation, momentarily quiet on stage.
• The Lighting: Natural light from a hidden window, embodied as a golden beam, surrounds the characters suspended mid-air on a bank of clouds. This "glory" serves as both divine light and stage lighting.
• The Scenery: The fresco painted by Giovanni Battista Abbatini, depicting Paradise, seamlessly integrates with the architectural structure.
• The Audience Boxes: Members of the Cornaro family, depicted leaning out from side balconies, represent a brilliant transformation of traditional parietal tombs into theater proscenium boxes. The observer, unwittingly, is drawn into this dramatic spectacle.

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa: Spiritual and Sensual Rapture

While integral to the chapel's grand design, the sculptural group itself—the core of maximum tension—stands as one of art history's most exquisite works. It remains unsurpassed in its interpretation of spiritual ecstasy and sensual rapture, alongside its remarkable technical virtuosity.

Bernini found in Saint Teresa's own words, describing her experience in The Book of Her Life, the most extraordinary source. He possessed a rare ability to fuse spiritual and emotional intensity with sensual charge—the fundamental components of Baroque religiosity. This was achieved through his profound understanding of material possibilities and an unusual mastery of sculptural procedures.