Bernini shows the Spanish mystic Teresa of Ávila swooning on a cloud as an angel prepares to pierce her heart with a golden spear, following her own account of a vision. Made for Cardinal Federico Cornaro's burial chapel, the group is lit from a hidden window above. Its blend of spiritual and bodily rapture has been admired and attacked ever since.
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On the side walls, marble members of the Cornaro family lean from boxes like theatregoers, discussing the vision. Gilded stucco rays stream down behind the figures.
Looks like this
Compared by a vision model
