Ecstasy of Saint Theresa by Bernini

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is the central sculptural group in white marble set in an elevated aedicule in the Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome. It was designed and completed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the leading sculptor of his day, who also designed the setting of the Chapel in marble, stucco and paint. It is generally considered to be one of the sculptural masterpieces of the High Roman Baroque. 

This is Bernini’s dramatization of a religious experience undergone and related by the first Discalced Carmelite saint who had recently been canonized in 1622. It was completed in 1652.

This is a fascinating piece of work which has more than one interpretation. 

The effects are theatrical, the Cornaro family seeming to observe the scene from their boxes,and the chapel illustrates a moment where divinity intrudes on an earthly body.It has been said "the transverberation becomes a point of contact between earth and heaven, between matter and spirit".Given the sexualized imagery of St. Teresa's written account of the experience, some critics have seen in the statue a depiction of physical orgasm; in particular, the body posture and facial expression of St. Teresa have caused some to assign her experience as one of climactic moment.