Where Is Blessed Ludovica Albertoni? See It at This Museum

Q: Where can I see Blessed Ludovica Albertoni?

It's in the Altieri Chapel at the church of San Francesco a Ripa in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood. Free to enter. The chapel is small and the sculpture sits above the altar, lit by a window that Bernini designed as part of the installation.

Q: How does this compare to the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa?

Bernini created both works to show women in states of spiritual ecstasy, but Ludovica is more intimate. There's no angel, no dramatic framing. Just a dying woman on her bed. Bernini was 75 when he finished it. The Baroque mastery of fabric and flesh is just as impressive as the Teresa, 22 years earlier.

Q: What does Blessed Ludovica Albertoni depict?

Gian Lorenzo Bernini it shows the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, a Roman noblewoman and Franciscan tertiary, at the moment of her death, in a state of spiritual ecstasy. She reclines on her deathbed, clutching her chest, mouth open, eyes half-closed.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini carved this as his final major sculpture, completing it in 1674 at age 75. It shows the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, a Roman noblewoman and Franciscan tertiary, at the moment of her death, in a state of spiritual ecstasy. She reclines on her deathbed, clutching her chest, mouth open, eyes half-closed.

Like his earlier Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Bernini blurred the line between spiritual rapture and physical sensation. The drapery folds cascade in turbulent waves around her body. Bernini designed the altar, lighting, and surrounding architecture as one unified Baroque composition. The sculpture is in the Altieri Chapel at San Francesco a Ripa in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood.

It's in the Altieri Chapel at the church of San Francesco a Ripa in Rome's Trastevere neighborhood. Free to enter. The chapel is small and the sculpture sits above the altar, lit by a window that Bernini designed as part of the installation.

Bernini created both works to show women in states of spiritual ecstasy, but Ludovica is more intimate. There's no angel, no dramatic framing. Just a dying woman on her bed. Bernini was 75 when he finished it. The Baroque mastery of fabric and flesh is just as impressive as the Teresa, 22 years earlier.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini it shows the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, a Roman noblewoman and Franciscan tertiary, at the moment of her death, in a state of spiritual ecstasy. She reclines on her deathbed, clutching her chest, mouth open, eyes half-closed.

Blessed Ludovica Albertoni

Details

The Artist

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