The scuplture in the picture is the Ecstasy of St. Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 1600s. It depicts an angel holding an arrow/spear over St. Teresa while she is emerged in a state of embodied pleasure, orgasm and swoon, which can be told be her facial expression. It is an interesting yet important piece of arts since it represents in a way how the Catholic Church view sensual pleasure and use it as an embodiment for religious purpose. Although St. Teresa is a nun that followed celibacy, the church chose to use her sexual orgasm/sensual pleasure to embody the spiritual ecstasy, or Transverberation, which is described as “a type of altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness, frequently accompanied by visions and emotional (and sometimes physical) euphoria” (Wikipedia), and the dart is one “afire with love” that allows feeling of God’s love. Interestingly, it was used as a means to counter the Reformation and highlight the spiritual aspect of the religion, and even though some accuse it of overt sexual pleasure, the church defends it as a spiritual representation.
Acknowledgement
Fig.1 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Ecstasy_of_Saint_Teresa_September_2015-2a.jpg
