BERNINI, Gian Lorenzo
(b. 1598, Napoli, d. 1680, Roma)

The Ecstasy of Saint Therese

1647-52
Marble
Cappella Cornaro, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome

The Cornaro Chapel, located in the Northern transept of the Church is composed in a theatrical way. The group of Saint Therese and the angel is situated in a framed niche lighted beautifully from an unidentifiable source. The sensual character of the ecstasy aroused erotic associations and generated moral reservations from the second half of the eighteenth century. However, for contemporaries it had met all religious and moral requirements.