Saint Augustine appearing to Saint Teresa of Ávila

A highly finished study for the altarpiece of Santa Maria della Scala in the Ospedale, Siena, which was commissioned from Ferri in 1669, during his sojourn in the service of the Grand Dukes in Florence. The altarpiece celebrated the canonisation of the Florentine nun and mystic Maria Magdalena de' Pazzi (1566-1607), who had belonged to the reformed Discalced ('barefoot') branch of the Carmelite Order. The Order had been founded in 1593 by Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Ávila, and Maria Magdalena de' Pazzi's elevation to sainthood was one of its first great successes in Italy. The present composition shows an episode from Saint Teresa's life in which she experienced a vision of Saint Augustine, one of the four Fathers of the Church, which also acknowledges the fact that the Order was now being accepted at the heart of the Church, as opposed to its original reputation as a rather unorthodox offshoot of the other religious orders. Saint Teresa sits in a pose more frequently used for the Annunciate Virgin, while Saint Augustine takes on the role of a heavenly messenger bringing spiritual enlightenment, thereby emphasising the mystical and religious teachings at the heart of the Carmelite doctrine. Another preparatory drawing for the same altarpiece, showing Saint Augustine on a cloud supported by putti, is in the Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, Rome (inv. F.C. 124430).