Sacred Art & Iconography

Saint Teresa of Avila Interceding for Souls in Purgatory (Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190.19)

Oil on wood, Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, Metropolitan Museum of Art 17.190.19

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "Saint Teresa of Avila Interceding for Souls in Purgatory (Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190.19)." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sacred-art-iconography/teresa-of-avila-rubens-workshop-met-17-190-19.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). Saint Teresa of Avila Interceding for Souls in Purgatory (Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190.19). Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sacred-art-iconography/teresa-of-avila-rubens-workshop-met-17-190-19

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-saint-teresa-of-avila-interceding-for-so,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {Saint Teresa of Avila Interceding for Souls in Purgatory (Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.190.19)},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sacred-art-iconography/teresa-of-avila-rubens-workshop-met-17-190-19},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

An oil on wood panel from the Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens showing Teresa of Avila interceding for souls held in purgatory, attended by angels and Christ. The panel belongs to the intercessory devotional imagery that grew around Teresa following her 1622 canonization. Held today by the Metropolitan Museum of Art under accession 17.190.19, given by J. Pierpont Morgan in 1917.

Facts

Rights and Reproduction

Reproduction and Copyright

This panel is a reduced workshop version of a large altarpiece Rubens painted about 1630 to 1633 for the church of the Discalced Carmelites in Antwerp. An engraving made after that altarpiece identifies the soul shown at left as Bernardino de Mendoza, a young Spaniard who had given Teresa land to build a convent but died before it could be completed; Christ tells her in the vision that his release from purgatory depends on the convent finally being built. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Belongs to Tradition

Roman Catholicism

Source Saint Teresa of Avila Interceding for Souls in Purgatory, accession 17.190.19 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Depicts

Teresa of Avila

The panel's directly named subject per the museum's own title and its own linked Wikidata identifier, interceding for souls in a scene matching the intercessory devotional register the corroborating Wikipedia record independently describes for her.

Source Saint Teresa of Avila Interceding for Souls in Purgatory, accession 17.190.19 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Additional Source Teresa of Avila (Wikipedia)

Sources

1. Saint Teresa of Avila Interceding for Souls in Purgatory, accession 17.190.19 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Metropolitan Museum of ArtView the Source

Teresa of Avila (Wikipedia)

WikipediaDepicts: Teresa of Avila

Quote, Depicts: Teresa of Avila

Teresa of Avila was canonized in 1622 and later named a Doctor of the Church; devotional art built around her often shows her interceding on behalf of others, reflecting the visionary and intercessory character of her own writings.

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