Compare and Contrast: Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Theresa and Caravaggio's Calling of Saint Matthew
FIVE
Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, on the left, was created from 1645-1652. It is made of marble. It was based on Saint Theresa's vision where she experienced extreme pain from having her entrails pulled out with a golden spear leaving her consumed with God's love. It was not a physical but, a spiritual pain. Bernini used the physical body and sexual symbolism to depict the spiritual experience. Saint Theresa could only explain her experience by using metaphors. The angel is pointing an arrow with an iron tip at Saint Theresa which Christ also points when he chooses Saint Matthew. The angel also appears more heavenly compared to her due to his wings and the wind whipping the cloth around his body in such a way. It was created around the time of Counter-Reformation when Protestants were revolting against the Catholic Church. Protestants said that a personal relationship with God was needed and that the ceremony of the church was not necessary. Bernini uses the ceremony, gold, and marble to express a direct and personal relationship with God. The fresco on the ceiling of the chapel shows the Holy Spirit, a white dove, and light that seems to pour onto the figures as if it were coming from the Holy Spirit. This artwork seems to be more theatrical by including the viewer in the piece as the audience. In this piece, the religious aspects seem to be clearer compared to Caravaggio's painting where the religious aspects seem to be more subtle. For example, the faint halo above Christ's head. However, both works of art seem to be about spiritual awakening and the union of our world with the spiritual. Caravaggio's Calling of Saint Matthew, on the right, was painted with oil on canvas. It depicts Saint Peter and Christ coming to a tavern or bar-like location to call upon Saint Matthew. In the painting, Saint Matthew points at himself in disbelief that Christ is calling upon him because he is a tax collector. The figure next to him is greedily counting money giving the feeling that it was not obtained legally. Christ has a faint halo. The way Christ points at Saint Matthew is delicate, removing him from the ordinary world, and it seems to be the same hand with the slightly bent wrist that Michelangelo had previously painted. Christ, as the second Adam, redeeming mankind after Adam causes mankind's fall. This moment of personal redemption for Matthew, just as Adam was created, Matthew was recreated, transformed, and converted. Both works of art use light and shadow to enhance the symbolism. Caravaggio's painting is much darker which seems to be associated with Saint Matthew being in the greedy business of being a tax collector compared to Bernini's sculpture with the bright light that seems to pour from the Holy Spirit onto the angel and Saint Theresa. Reply
THREE
Bernini, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Rome Italy, 1645-52, in the Coronaro chapel, Santa maria della Vittoria Marble colored Patron: Coronaro family -religious man -work is sculpture, architecture, painter used colored marble, fresco on ceiling and stained glass. Baroque- used every means to inspire us and bring us in to the subject. Bernini translate the physical and spiritual in the stone. He also used the physical body in a kind of sexual symbolism to get spiritual experience. This is about change, metamorphosis, emotion. Spiritual union of our world and spiritual world. He brings the vision accounts she had of angels in the last line she wrote -this is not physical but spiritual pain. It shows in her face the expression she must be going throw. Caravaggio, calling of Saints Mathew and Inspiration of St. Mathue, in the Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francessi, Rome 1507-1601 Oil on paint Spiritual awaking, Baroque art, transformation negitive implication not just the he was working for the IRS tax collector but more shady. -not showing Christ in heaven, now hes in back room of a bar - this work is contemporary envirement -bring spiritual down to every day level Similarities are- Devine entered everyday life same in Bernini and Caravaggio. Lighting was used to enhance the emotion. both are Baroque art.
Caravaggios Calling of saint Matthew
Caravaggio, Calling of Saint Matthew, from the Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, ca. 1507-1601, oil on canvas. Patron: Mateo Contarelli. The Calling of St. Matthew, Caravaggio use of tenebrism (strong contrast of light/dark) the intense contrast of light and dark in painting; characteristic of Caravaggio Artist: Caravaggio Subject: Calling of Saint Matthew, from the Contarelli chapel as found in Matthew 9:9 Matthew is a tax collector and Jesus asks him to follow him. Medium: is oil on canvas and a sense of darkness rather than light Style: Naturalistic and subject-oriented art. Tenebrism a style of painting especially associated with the Italian painter Caravaggio. With a variety of light and dark color mixture. Date: 1507-1601 Patronage: Mateo Contarelli Use: Completed for the Chapel Contarelli Both: The Divine entered in this common down to earth experience in a tavern and said come follow me. The Divine and the Holy Spirit was represented in both.
saint theres berini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, from the Coronaro chapel, Santa Maria Della Vittoria, Rome, Italy, 1645-1652, marble. Patron: Coronaro family. One of the great saints of the counter-reformation, and director of the reformed order of the Carmelites who go barefoot or wears sandals; discalced. She was Canonized in 1622. She had visions and there is an account of one; passionate drama. Bernini was interested in theater and design and created what is known as a bel composto or beautiful composition in his work; The Ecstasy of St. Theresa. In this work architecture, sculpture, and painting with the addition of light come together to show us the saint's vision. St. Theresa had been canonized in 1622 and had described in her autobiography the transverberation is (a vision and ecstasy that takes place at the same time) depicted by Bernini. This work summarizes how art functioned in service of Church providing those on Earth a near-religious experience. Artist: Bernini Gian Lorenzo Subject: is The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, from the Coronaro chapel Medium: Marble Type: Sculpture Style: Emotional Theatrical Style Date: 1645-1652 Patronage: Coronaro family Use: is the Chapel of Santa Maria Della Vittoria, in Rome, Italy Both: The Divine entered the sculpture through the angel and the holy spirit and the light. And her vision of ecstasy. The light was used to develop emotion. Both are Baroque Art. This sculpture was used by the Catholic Church to inspire members to have a closer connection to God and have a spiritual experience.
SIX
One of the most significant similarities between the pieces is the importance of the use of light and how it accents and emphasizes different elements in each respective work. In Bernini's sculpture, light is used to center any viewer's focus on the events unfolding in the center of his piece. The light reflecting off of the golden rods not only serves as a path for the eye to follow down to the figures of St. Theresa and the angel but also gives an eye-catching element that nullifies the possibility of the sculpture being ignored. In Caravaggio's painting, light is used more sparingly, and perhaps, as a result of this, more impactfully. By keeping a majority of the canvas dark, anything touched by the light is inevitably honed in upon by the viewer of the piece. The dramatic diagonal shaft of light also directs the eye, but in this case it does so in a much more personal way, singling out and almost pointing to the figure of St. Matthew. While the two works also differ in medium, date of creation, and the chapel that they are housed in, a more significant contrast between the two appears in the approach each takes to a religious subject matter. Bernini's work, though awe-inspiring, is somewhat distancing. It attempts to depict a spiritual experience based off of an autobiographical account from the writings of St. Theresa using visual and physical metaphors. Even the placement of the piece separates it from the earthly realm of an everyday person, as it is meant to be displayed, set up to be looked at and observed in a structure that is stage-like and theatrical. Caravaggio's painting does the opposite, grounding a religious, spiritual figure in reality by placing the scene in a common, dark, familiar setting that is akin to the back room of a tavern or bar. Here, instead of creating an idealized or transcendent scene, Christ is coming to the common man, a tax-collector who was sequestered away in the back room, to call on him specifically in spite of the moment of sordidity that St. Matthew appears to be engaged in.
FOUR
Perhaps the most obvious distinction between the two works is the medium. Bernini's work is carved out of stone, whereas Caravaggio's work is painted on canvas. These pieces both depict religious scenes, but in completely different lights. The Ecstasy of St. Theresa feels gaudy and dramatic, and is definitely used for show and splendor. Caravaggio's work shows St. Matthew in a more humanistic, natural form. The setting is dark, with a bright burst of light from (most likely) the window. Bernini's work is all light, thanks to the reflection of light off of the large golden rods surrounding the scene. 1647-1652 were the year of creations of Bernini's sculpture. Caravaggio's painting was created at the very beginning of the Baroque period-- 1599-1600. The sculpture feels harsher and more brutal, with the angle pointing an arrow at St. Theresa, and Theresa having a look of pain or exhaustion on her face. The painting feels softer and more genuine, with Christ gently pointing at Matthew and Matthew with a look of humble disbelief on his face. He points to himself as if to say "me, really?". It makes Matthew feel much more human-like and real than Theresa, whose dress is draped all around her in a dramatic and ethereal fashion. These works are so unique and each one has its own style and charm. Reply
TEAACHER
This works show naturalism versus classicism. Caravaggio is the father of naturalism whereas Bernini is a proponent of Classicism. The work by Bernini is located in the chapel of Santa Maria della Vittoria and is a bel composto that includes architecture, painting and sculpture. Bernini shows St, Theresa in a state of transverberation: a vision combined with an ecstasy. The work by Caravaggio is still in its original location, in situ. The patron of Bernini is the Coronaro family and the patron of Caravaggio is the Contrarelli family. Both are Baroque works by Italian artists.
TWO
aravaggio and Bernini were both artists of the Italian Baroque era. Bernini was famous for his classical characteristics, shown in his work Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Caravaggio was well-known for the other direction of Italian Baroque art, naturalism, shown in his work Calling of St. Matthew. During this era, artists in Italy were commissioned for work by the Catholic church to restore faith in Catholicism after the Protestant Reformation. Both of these works by these great artists are commissioned by families for chapels and reveal specific saints that were regarded by these families. Calling of St. Matthew is created by oil on canvas and shows Jesus calling to Matthew to come and follow him. This painting exhibits Caravaggio's famous use of tenebrism. Ecstasy of St. Theresa, created later than the one by Caravaggio, is a marble work, showing St. Theresa's vision of an angel piercing her side. Bernini's attention to detail and texture are depicted. Both of these works show this Italian Baroque idea of the church connecting with the people. Caravaggio shows Matthew as a human man, with human emotions, while Bernini's work depicts St. Theresa's vision as something that the average person can see and understand. Both of these artists captured a thematic element in these works, Bernini with the emotions of St. Theresa and the angel and Caravaggio with the expressions of the men in the painting. Reply
transverberation
sain theresa
patronized by contarelli
saint theresa
