Cornaro Chapel

Rome, Italy

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The Cornaro Chapel, located in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome, is renowned for its Baroque masterpiece, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini between 1645 and 1652. This chapel is considered a prime example of Bernini's mature artistic style and his ability to integrate architecture, sculpture, and painting to create a powerful sensory experience.12

Bernini's work in the Cornaro Chapel exemplifies the Baroque period's dramatic and emotional intensity, transforming stone to convey lifelike textures and intense spiritual states. The sculpture depicts a mystical vision of Saint Teresa of Ávila, capturing a moment of profound spiritual rapture. This work is celebrated as a pinnacle of Baroque religious sculpture.21

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Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Patronage of Innocent X and Alexander VII
…Bernini’s mature art is the Cornaro Chapel in Santa Maria della Vittoria, in Rome, which completes the evolution begun early in his career. The chapel, commissioned by Federigo Cardinal Cornaro, is in a shallow transept in the small church. Its focal point is his sculpture of The Ecstasy of St.…
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…Bernini’s mature art is the Cornaro Chapel in Santa Maria della Vittoria, in Rome, which completes the evolution begun early in his career. The chapel, commissioned by Federigo Cardinal Cornaro, is in a shallow transept in the small church. Its focal point is his sculpture of The Ecstasy of St.…
Read More