The Bitcoin Angel Ascension

Created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 17th century, the Ecstasy of St. Teresa depicts an angel, spear in hand, standing over Teresa Ávilla in the thrall of religious ecstasy. The sculpture radiates the spiritual energy and eroticism that stimulated its creation, and even the casual observer finds themself enthralled. It is this spiritual reaction that has roused the evolution of The Bitcoin Angel: The Ascended Angel.

Originally conceived as a painting that explored the past to offer observations of the present, The Bitcoin Angel evokes the triumph and torment of the digital trader against the iconography of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

The key elements of the original Bitcoin Angel painting are present in the Ascended Angel, with emphasis on the majestical qualities of the Bernini sculpture. It elicits the visceral spiritual reactions that are experienced by those who view the original sculpture in the Cornaro Chapel in Rome.

The piece seeks to create an almost meditative experience for the observer, offering an in-the-round encounter that liberates the viewer from the limitations of the static perspective of a two-dimensional painting. Resplendent in celestial shimmering precious metals, bathed in golden beams of divinity, and suffused with a transcendental choral soundscape, the viewer is invited into a celebration of the ecstasy that St. Teresa experienced. This is the ecstasy that any of us can feel upon an epiphany, success, or indeed the simple pleasure of discovering a beautiful piece of art. 

Holding dominion over this ethereal interpretation of the Bernini sculpture is – again – the Bitcoin symbol itself. Turning slowly and quietly in the background, it is an almost omniscient presence, representing the forces in all our lives that are beyond our control but are ever present. Its resolute rotation alludes to the passage of time and our own mortality, which makes the ephemeral emotive experiences we encounter, spiritually or otherwise, all the more precious.