Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Marble sculpture group in the Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria church, Rome, Italy
Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is a marble group in the Cornaro Chapel inside Santa Maria della Vittoria church in Rome. The figures rest on a cloud of white stone, while an angel with a gentle smile holds a golden arrow over the half-reclining figure of the saint.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini created the group between 1647 and 1652 for the Cornaro family, who commissioned the decoration of their burial chapel in the church. The work took shape during a phase when Bernini received fewer papal commissions and turned to private projects.
The work draws from a vision described by Saint Teresa of Ávila, who recounted an experience of spiritual openness. The scene shows the moment her heart responds to a presence she interpreted as communion with the divine.
The group stands in the left transept of Santa Maria della Vittoria, in the Cornaro Chapel, where it replaced an earlier image of Saint Paul in Ecstasy. The marble is lit by daylight entering through a hidden window in the dome of the aedicule, with gilded stucco rays behind the figures, so the effect shifts with the hour.
On the side walls of the chapel sit members of the Cornaro family carved in marble, watching the scene from their boxes. They look like spectators in a theater and draw the viewer into the event, as if you were part of the performance yourself.
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