Consider Bernini's St. Teresa in Ecstasy. Discuss the aspects of this work's form and content that exemplify the religious Baroque style supporting the Roman Catholic Church during the Counter-Reformation.
What will be an ideal response?
As a response to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church decided the arts should communicate religious themes in an emotional presentation, which gave rise to the Baroque style. Ecstasy of St. Theresa is a sculpture in the Cornaro Chapel and depicts a Spanish mystic nun, who is an important Counter-Reformation figure. The entire chapel employs all of Bernini's talents, creating a theatrical arena, with St. Theresa as the focal point, setting the drama as if on a stage. An angel wields a spear, and the figure falls back in a dramatic collapse, her face full of emotional rapture. The deeply cut folds of the garment create abrupt contrasts of light and shadow, illuminated from a hidden window. Bernini sought to create a theatrical performance, and the viewer is caught up in the theatrical experience.
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