Annotated Bibliography

Avery, C., & Finn, D. (1997). Bernini: genius of the Baroque, (pp. 144-149). Canada: Little, Brown & Company.

This book gives an excellent description of the Cornaro chapel. It does tend to describe The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa and the scene surrounding in a theatrical way, which tends to be up for debate with critics. It provides us with great descriptions of what Bernini had in mind when constructing the sculpture and even provides pictures of his sketches. It gives great descriptions of the chapel, helping us to visualize what we will see and where it can be located upon entering. There is an excellent colored picture of the altar.

Call, M. J. (1997). Boxing Teresa: The Counter-Reformation and Bernini’s Cornaro Chapel. Woman’s Art Journal, 18, 34-39.

This article focused more on the Cardinal Cornaro and why he chose St. Teresa for his chapel. It also provided a detailed description of what the sculpture looks like. It tries to describe it, as well as give reasoning for why it looks the way it does, which is helpful. By providing facts and information for why certain things are placed where they are in the scene, it gives me a better understanding for what Bernini’s goals were in creating this sculpture.

Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art. Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Biography of Italian Baroque Sculptor & Architect. Retrieved November 4, 2010 from http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/sculpture/bernini-giovanni.htm

This website was probably not the most reliable source to use, but it did have information that matched up with my books and articles. It had a few different sections that included Bernini’s biography, a summary of his life and his works, and a section of the Baroque period. It tended to repeat a lot of the same information over and over again though. I used this website for a better understanding of his life and how he got to become the great artist that he did.

Lubow, A. (2008, October). Bernini’s Genius. Smithsonian magazine. Retrieved November 4, 2010 from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/berninigenius.html?c=y&page=1

This magazine article, found on a website, provided a large amount of information on Bernini’s life and his development into becoming the well-known artist. It gave explanations of his great work ethic and described his long, lifetime career. It gave me honest explanations of the artist as well though, explaining how he did really want to be famous and create a legacy. It explained his integrity as an artist, as well as a great man in general. It didn’t really provide much information on the actual sculpture of The Ecstasy of St. Teresa though.

Wallace, R. (1970). The world of Bernini, (pp. 11, 153). New York: Time-Life Books.

This book gave a discrete explanation of the sculpture of The Ecstasy of St. Teresa. It also provided a large, zoomed in picture of the angel and the Saint, so you could see more detail. It has a great description of what the Baroque style really entails. I mainly used this book to form a better understanding of the Baroque art in which Bernini was known for.

Warma, S. (1984, September). Ecstasy and Vision: Two Concepts Connected with Bernini’s Teresa. The Art Bulletin, 66, 508-511.

This article provided an extremely detailed description of The Ecstasy of St. Teresa. It also provided an extensive amount of excerpts from St. Teresa’s Autobiography detailing her many characteristics of experiencing ecstasy. The article provided the very detailed description of what the whole basis of sculpture is about, her ecstatic experience with God. It gave great comparisons of what St. Teresa explains as ecstasy to how Bernini tried to portray it in his sculpture.

Wittkower, R. Bernini: the sculptor of the Roman Baroque, (pp. 158-173). Regent’s Wharf: Phaidon Press Limited.

This book provided a detailed description of many chapels and churches of the Baroque period. It definitely favors the Cornaro Chapel and compares it with other ones of that time. It does give a quick description of The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, but doesn’t go into quite as much detail as other sources. It does go into great detail about the chapel itself, and just slightly includes The Ecstasy of St. Teresa as a sort of ornamentation. It does have excellent pictures, though they are in black and white. It includes pictures of the sculpture itself, as well as an up-close picture of the angel, the Saint, the side viewing spectator boxes, and even the spectators themselves.