Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Ávila (c. 1650)

This ultimate statement of baroque sculpture captures all the drama and even sensationalism of a mystical religious faith. Bernini based his figures on a vision reported by St. Teresa in which she saw an angel: “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 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.” (Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy / De Agostini Picture Library / G. Nimatallah / Bridgeman Images.)