The Ecstasy of St. Theresa
Religion, Judgment and Immorality-Kymmie Erler
As I sit here organizing my thoughts on how I should put in order my thoughts for this paper, it seems quite humorous to me that I am listening to Bach and enjoying Magnificat in D Major. Being that he is what I believe, to be the greatest composer in the Baroque music period of the 17th and 18th century. Music derived from Europe but mostly Rome to be exact. Religious but chaotic. Pleasing to the ear, calming, yet highly unorganized and mind-blowing at the same time. The irony is that “The Ecstasy of St. Theresa” by Gianlorenzo Bernini, can be articulated quite the same to me. And what pulls it together is that this marble statue, was created in the Baroque period of art, in Rome, in a window in the Santa Maria church. Being a Christian girl myself, I often find myself bearing off course when it comes to my opinions of this piece. Let’s start with religion, then judgement and immorality.
Let’s start with the obvious views religiously. St. Theresa was a nun. In this sculpture you see things that reference what one would learn about heaven in Sunday schools. Clouds, Saints, Angels. Then around the sculpture in different heights of lines coming from the window tops, the warm golden colored, triangular shaped lines seem to glow like God’s light around the scene. Almost like the scene around the manger where Jesus was born. Now religiously, nuns should be devout, God-like and most of all moral virgins. Angels are said to be God’s messengers. Understanding these very basic concepts will lead you to agree with me when I speak of my opinions in the representation of this scene, through the eyes of subjectivity and not just religion.
The judgment and the morality speaks the opposite. The title itself implies a nun in a state of sexual desire and orgasm. I would state the judgment as being the architect of the light being showered on the scene of Saint Theresa lying back against rock textured looking clouds, being held up
As I sit here organizing my thoughts on how I should put in order my thoughts for this paper, it seems quite humorous to me that I am listening to Bach and enjoying Magnificat in D Major. Being that he is what I believe, to be the greatest composer in the Baroque music period of the 17th and 18th century. Music derived from Europe but mostly Rome to be exact. Religious but chaotic. Pleasing to the ear, calming, yet highly unorganized and mind-blowing at the same time. The irony is that “The Ecstasy of St. Theresa” by Gianlorenzo Bernini, can be articulated quite the same to me. And what pulls it together is that this marble statue, was created in the Baroque period of art, in Rome, in a window in the Santa Maria church. Being a Christian girl myself, I often find myself bearing off course when it comes to my opinions of this piece. Let’s start with religion, then judgement and immorality.
Let’s start with the obvious views religiously. St. Theresa was a nun. In this sculpture you see things that reference what one would learn about heaven in Sunday schools. Clouds, Saints, Angels. Then around the sculpture in different heights of lines coming from the window tops, the warm golden colored, triangular shaped lines seem to glow like God’s light around the scene. Almost like the scene around the manger where Jesus was born. Now religiously, nuns should be devout, God-like and most of all moral virgins. Angels are said to be God’s messengers. Understanding these very basic concepts will lead you to agree with me when I speak of my opinions in the representation of this scene, through the eyes of subjectivity and not just religion.
The judgment and the morality speaks the opposite. The title itself implies a nun in a state of sexual desire and orgasm. I would state the judgment as being the architect of the light being showered on the scene of Saint Theresa lying back against rock textured looking clouds, being held up