Answer to Question 1
Both paintings are in the Baroque style. Rubens traveled to Italy and studied the works of Italian masters, including Caravaggio. There are similarities between these two paintings in the sharply diagonal composition and dramatic lighting. There are differences in the two masters' styles in regard to the placement of the figures. Caravaggio's seem almost frozen in a moment of anguish, but Ruben's painting teems with movement and energy, each of the participants balanced precariously and straining at his task. The action in Entombment is contained on four sides within the canvas frame. But Ruben's figures burst outside the picture in several directions, suggesting a continuation of the action.
Answer to Question 2
As a response to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church decided the arts should communicate religious themes in an emotional presentation, which gave rise to the Baroque style. Ecstasy of St. Theresa is a sculpture in the Cornaro Chapel and depicts a Spanish mystic nun, who is an important Counter-Reformation figure. The entire chapel employs all of Bernini's talents, creating a theatrical arena, with St. Theresa as the focal point, setting the drama as if on a stage. An angel wields a spear, and the figure falls back in a dramatic collapse, her face full of emotional rapture. The deeply cut folds of the garment create abrupt contrasts of light and shadow, illuminated from a hidden window. Bernini sought to create a theatrical performance, and the viewer is caught up in the theatrical experience.
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