Ecstasies. Bernini at Wawel

From 6 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, the Wawel Royal Castle will host the Ecstasies. Bernini at Wawel exhibition, which is the third instalment in a series devoted to masterpieces of modern sculpture, which began with the Expression: Lviv Rococo Sculpture exhibition in 2023, soon followed up with Emotions: Lviv Rococo Sculpture in 2024. This time, the story will revolve around ecstasy – a liminal state in which the intensity of the experience transcends the boundaries of the ordinary, leading to spiritual elation, rapture, as well as near-death experiences.

The exhibition focuses on the works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the most outstanding artists of the Baroque period. As a master of light, movement and emotion, Bernini was able to imbue his sculptures with extraordinary dynamism and to portray spiritual experiences with moving intensity. At the heart of the exhibition are the works linked with the famous Ecstasy of Saint Teresa of Ávila, located in the Cornaro Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. The exhibits on display will include a model of the saint’s face, a terracotta bozzetto, a drawing depicting her head, and a design for the altar of the Cornaro Chapel. The works on display offer an insight into the artist’s technique and the ways in which he was able to give a spiritual experience an almost tangible dimension through form, light and movement.

This story of ecstasy is complemented by works depicting the experiences of other saints, including models linked to the monument to Maria Raggi and depictions of St Anastasia and St Philip Neri, as well as paintings by Giovanni Battista Gauli, also known as Baciccio, and Giuseppe Maria Crespi. This collection of sculptures, drawings and paintings will enable us to trace the various ways in which ecstatic states were depicted in 17th- and 18th-century art.

The exhibition will be laid out across two spaces, each representing a distinct narrative thread - the ecstasy experienced in life and the rapture associated with death. The exhibition will build on previous instalments of the series, delving into the theme of emotions and their artistic representation even further. Light and music will also play an important part in the narrative, helping to create the atmosphere of the exhibition.

Ecstasies. Bernini at Wawel is an encounter with works of the highest artistic calibre as well as an attempt to capture one of the most fascinating phenomena of early art – the need to depict things that go beyond ordinary experiences. The exhibition is a story about the limits of human emotion, about physicality and spirituality, about the tension between suffering and delight, and between life and death.

Exhibition curator: Joanna Sędziwy