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Lintel 25 of Yaxchilán Structure 23
Artist / Origin: Maya artist, Yaxchilán, Chiapas, Mexico
Region: Mesoamerica, Central America, and the Caribbean
Date: Late Classic period, 600–900 CE
Period: 500 CE – 1000 CE
Material: Limestone relief
Medium: Sculpture
Dimensions: H: 51 in. (129.5 cm.), W: 33.7 in. (85.7 cm)
Location: The British Museum, London, UK
Credit: Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY
The Ecstasy of St. Teresa
Artist / Origin: Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1598–1680)
Region: Europe
Date: 1647–52
Period: 1400 CE – 1800 CE
Material: Marble, stucco, and gilt bronze
Medium: Sculpture
Dimensions: H: 11 ft. 6 in. (3.5 m.)
Location: Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy
Credit: Courtesy of SCALA/Art Resource, NY
Although most people in modern Western society tend to associate visions with psychosis, at many times and in many places they have been understood as signs of political or spiritual authority. Both of these works portray women in the midst of visionary experiences. The presentation of each speaks to both the role of the artwork in its respective location and the status of the vision’s seer in the culture that produced the work.