Born in Venice, Piazzetta received his training there, before moving to Bologna at the age of 20. The marked tenebrism of his style, which increased over time, reflects not only the Bolognese works to which he would been exposed, such as those by the Carracci and Guercino, but probably reveals as well the influence of the latter’s Roman-period works. This striking and dramatic bust-length depiction of Saint Theresa in Ecstasy is characteristic of Piazzetta’s images of single saints. He executed two additional versions of this composition. One version is in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, and differs very slightly in the background and arrangement of the rosary beads. The third version (location unknown) is known only from an engraving by Marco Pitteri. That version includes a crucifix (in lieu of rosary beads) and a skull in the lower left corner. This previously led to the belief that the present canvas is a fragment, although comparison with the Stockholm picture confirms otherwise. And Rodolfo Pallucchini has now convincingly argued that the present version should be considered the prime example among all three. Piazzetta also engaged on other occasions with this general figural type, with the female saint leaning back, eyes closed, in quiet contemplative ecstasy, for instance his Saint Margaret in Ecstasy.
