Catholic Art and Jewelry
Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila – Doctor of the Church – Print of a 19th Century Hand-Tinted Engraving – Catholic Art Print – Archival
Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila – Doctor of the Church – Print of a 19th Century Hand-Tinted Engraving – Catholic Art Print – Archival
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The Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) was a deeply religious experience she had that changed her life forever. It was an intense, deep communion with God. She described the experience in her autobiography as a beautiful angel stabbing her heart with a golden arrow. I want to quote the whole passage because, well, she is a Doctor of the Church, and the passage explains a lot about the spiritual life, but as well it tells a lot about the various ways artists have depicted the event.
“In his hands I saw a great golden spear, and at the iron tip there appeared to be a point of fire. This he plunged into my heart several times so that it penetrated to my entrails. When he pulled it out, I felt that he took them with it, and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease, nor is one's soul then content with anything but God. This is not a physical, but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it—even a considerable share. So gentle is this wooing which takes place between God and the soul that if anyone thinks I am lying, I pray God in his goodness, to grant him some experience of it.” (source: www.bluffton.edu, citing Howard Hibbard, Bernini (NY: Penguin, 1965): 136-37.)
One of the many things Teresa is talking about here is the mix of body and soul. In Bernini’s sculpture of the event, he externalizes the mystic vision into a depiction of her physical body and a physical angel holding the arrow. Her words clearly support such an artistic interpretation, but this was a vision she was having. We’re pretty sure if there had been someone in the room with her, they would not have seen a glowing angel stabbing her in the heart. So, it’s not the only interpretation.
This beautiful picture is another legitimate way of illustrating her experience. There are angels in the picture, but the union, after all, was between her and Jesus, not her and an agnel. A person in the room may not have seen Jesus coming off the cross to “woo” her, as she says. But they could have seen the joy and love in our Saint’s face as she drew so close to God that nothing else mattered.
This artwork was a hand-tinted engraving. It could have been from the 1700s, but high-quality work like this was more common in the early 1800s, maybe as late as 1840 or so. An engraver would have run these off in a hand printing press, and then a skilled watercolorist would have brushed in the color.
** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border of about 0.5" inch for 5x7", 1.3" for 8.5x11", or 1.6" for 11x14" pictures. All Approx! Fine art printers do this because the images are almost never the same rectangular ratio of the standard paper sizes. It also gives the prints a finished look, and lets them look good in a frame without a matt.
– Acid-free paper
– Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
– Cardboard backer
– Above story of the art
– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.
Thanks for your interest!
Thanks!
Sue & John
You might also enjoy original Catholic Art and Jewerly by me, Sue Kouma Johnson, here on Etsy at www.Etsy.com/shop/TreeOfHeaven
Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote
“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.” ~ St. Pope John Paul II
Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – CatholicArtAndJewelry.
“In his hands I saw a great golden spear, and at the iron tip there appeared to be a point of fire. This he plunged into my heart several times so that it penetrated to my entrails. When he pulled it out, I felt that he took them with it, and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease, nor is one's soul then content with anything but God. This is not a physical, but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it—even a considerable share. So gentle is this wooing which takes place between God and the soul that if anyone thinks I am lying, I pray God in his goodness, to grant him some experience of it.” (source: www.bluffton.edu, citing Howard Hibbard, Bernini (NY: Penguin, 1965): 136-37.)
One of the many things Teresa is talking about here is the mix of body and soul. In Bernini’s sculpture of the event, he externalizes the mystic vision into a depiction of her physical body and a physical angel holding the arrow. Her words clearly support such an artistic interpretation, but this was a vision she was having. We’re pretty sure if there had been someone in the room with her, they would not have seen a glowing angel stabbing her in the heart. So, it’s not the only interpretation.
This beautiful picture is another legitimate way of illustrating her experience. There are angels in the picture, but the union, after all, was between her and Jesus, not her and an agnel. A person in the room may not have seen Jesus coming off the cross to “woo” her, as she says. But they could have seen the joy and love in our Saint’s face as she drew so close to God that nothing else mattered.
This artwork was a hand-tinted engraving. It could have been from the 1700s, but high-quality work like this was more common in the early 1800s, maybe as late as 1840 or so. An engraver would have run these off in a hand printing press, and then a skilled watercolorist would have brushed in the color.
** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border of about 0.5" inch for 5x7", 1.3" for 8.5x11", or 1.6" for 11x14" pictures. All Approx! Fine art printers do this because the images are almost never the same rectangular ratio of the standard paper sizes. It also gives the prints a finished look, and lets them look good in a frame without a matt.
– Acid-free paper
– Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
– Cardboard backer
– Above story of the art
– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.
Thanks for your interest!
Thanks!
Sue & John
You might also enjoy original Catholic Art and Jewerly by me, Sue Kouma Johnson, here on Etsy at www.Etsy.com/shop/TreeOfHeaven
Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote
“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.” ~ St. Pope John Paul II
Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – CatholicArtAndJewelry.
