Bernardo Strozzi, known as Cappuccino (Genoa, 1581 – Venice, 1644)
The Ecstasy of St Teresa
oil on canvas,1614-22
The Room of Aurora or Flora

Regarded as an early work (1614–22) by the Genoese artist, the canvas presents a celebrated episode in the life of the Spanish saint, namely the vision of an angel who pierced her breast repeatedly with the burning tip of a golden lance. The subject was then to be immortalized by Bernini in his extraordinary sculptural group for the Cornaro Chapel in Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome (1646). Evidence of the success of the subject with local clients is provided by the fact that at least two more versions of Strozzi’s painting are known. The work belonged to the Gabaldoni collection, purchased by the House of Savoy in 1821 to furnish the royal apartments created that year in the Palazzo Ducale. It was moved to the Palazzo Reale in 1833.