Since Italian artists, particularly those in Rome, produced some of the most extraordinary works of art ever created, the high renaissance period is regarded as a brief but prolific period in art history. Gian Lorenzo Benin’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa was a prominent figure who began his art in the late 15th century and concluded in 1520. The Vintage movie poster is a depicted art by Pinintrests. Com that describes the art of the Italians based on Italian movies. The art is based on the idea of Christ’s works on Earth in that era. Ideally, Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy is one of this era’s most well-known pieces of art. This essay contrasts the two masterpieces, Gian Lorenzo Benin’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa and the vintage movie poster, emphasizing their key distinctions and similarities while stressing the elements that set each apart.
The Gian Lorenzo Benin’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa of sculptures depicts Teresa’s encounter with religious ecstasy when an angel appeared before she held a golden spear, as it is related in her autobiography: “He sometimes seemed to be shoving it into my heart, setting me ablaze with a profound love for God (Khan Academy, n.d). Although the sweetness of the excruciating pain was so overpowering that it caused me to groan, I was powerless to want it to end. Nothing less than God can now satisfy the soul. The art portrays that Teresa uses sensual language to describe her passionate yearning for God, a strategy that is a part of the long heritage of what is known as “bridal mysticism’.
Figure 1; Source Khan Academy
In order to convey the entire force of Teresa’s experience, Bernini painted Teresa with her eyes closed, her mouth open, and her visible limbs hanging limply. The heavy, ruffled drapery of her gown lends motion and drama to the scene, and its texture contrasts with the innocence of her face. The angel, who looks like a child, completes Teresa’s mystical union with God as he prepares to pierce her heart with his spear of divine love.
The Vintage movie poster is derived from a famous movie exhibiting Italian culture and norms. This movie has been represented to create images of Christ’s works while on Earth. Ideally, the movie has been played, basing its core theme on all the incidences Christ engaged in proclaiming the gospel. The artist for the movie poster is ideally trying to create a passionate view of Christ’s works, including the incident when Mary had gone to look For Him in the grave (Pinintrest, n.d). The art has depicted some core followers of Jesus and the family alongside some devoted servants who facilitated Christ’s works. Indeed, art can create an emotional perception of Christ’s missions on Earth, his authority, and his partners alongside those devoted to following him.
Figure 2; Source, Pinintrest.com
Indeed, Gian Lorenzo Benin’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa can be found in Rome at the Santa Maria Vintage poster, a movie whose posters can be easily identified from Pinterest com. It is among the numerous movies on the entertainment platform whose theme is mainly based on Italian culture. The death of Christ is depicted in the Pieta when the Virgin Mary is holding his body on her lap. Mary is thought to have been in her fifties at Christ’s death (Pinintrest, n.d). Still, in the sculpture, the artist makes her appear much younger and more attractive, enhancing the idea that Mary was a virgin depicted as having unblemished purity. On the other hand, Mary is pointing to her son and saying, “Here is my son who has sacrificed all for you,” while the body of Christ lies motionless in Michelangelo’s stunning depiction of the scene.
Gian Lorenzo Benin’s marble sculpture, Transverberation of Saint Teresa or the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, is thought to have been created between 1645 and 1652 (Dos Santos et al., 2023). In contrast to the vintage movie poster, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is regarded as Italian baroque art, a contemporary illumination of arts produced between the late sixteenth and the middle of the eighteenth century. Gian Lorenzo Benin, regarded as one of the best sculptors of his day and a Vintage poster, specialized in religious sculpture. The sculpture of Saint Teresa has a rich history because it is reported that she experienced dreams and visions of angels visiting her (Khan Academy, n.d).On this historic occasion, an angel appears to Teresa and shoots her with a burning arrow. Teresa feels pain from the several stab wounds, but she describes the pain as orgasmic and ecstatic in her own words. With her mouth open and her eyes half closed, Benin depicts the action at its peak, capturing the immense pleasure that his subject was feeling.
Although the two artworks are by other painters and from various arts, they can depict an aspect that can attract acceptance from the churches or other forms of religious art. The Ecstasy of Santa Maria has a lot of dramatic illumination, boosting the energy and intensity of the entire artwork, which is typical of the contra-reformist age (Khan Academy, n.d). In contrast, the Vintage movie poster’s feelings are more basic, simple, and serene. The bodies in both pieces of art share many ideological similarities since the physical attributes of the angel in the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa and the works of Jesus, mainly how Jesus worked when He preached the gospel and his interactions with his disciples, has a distinct religious correlation.
When comparing the two works of art, one cannot help but experience a sense of intimacy, as is the message conveyed by the artists, even though the Vintage movie poster is in a more secluded area of Christ’s works and His interactions with his disciples and the mass He preached. With dramatic components like the bronze beam that shines down and depicts the Holy Spirit’s lighting, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is displayed so that viewers are also curved on its adjacent walls (Khan Academy, n.d).However, Christ’s face in the Vintage movie conveys a sense of authority and command rather than passion, as was typical of similar posters of this time.
The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Benin and the vintage movie poster evokes intimacy and passion. Despite their differences and similarities, these two works of art stand out compared to others of a comparable caliber. Further, the vintage movie poster is passionate imagery regarding the authentic arts of the Roman culture and the ingrained religious characters. The majority of these arts are founded on religious conceptions of religious histories. Indeed, the two arts exhibit qualities of passion and sentiments and entail an incomparable status.
References
dos Santos, P. I. G., Coelho, M. S., & Bastos, C. P. G. (2023). APRECIAÇÃO DO ÊXTASE DE SANTA TERESA. Revista Contemporânea (Contemporary Journal), 3(1), 123-133.DOI: https://doi.org/10.56083/RCV3N1-007
Khan Academy.(n.d).Bernini, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa.Retrieved from.https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/baroque-art1/baroque-italy/a/bernini-ecstasy-of-saint-teresa
Pinintrest.(n.d).Vintage Posters.Retrieved from.https://www.pinterest.com/pin/850406342122260742/