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View of the altar with the north wall; The unity of sculpture, painting and architecture makes the chapel one of Bernini's greatest achievements. He was commissioned by the Venetian Cardinal Federigo Cornaro (1579-1653) to decorate a small chapel forming the left transept of the early 17th-century church. The patron wanted to construct a mortuary chapel for himself, commemorate seven other distinguished members of his family and, especially, honour St. Teresa of Avila, the 16th-century Spanish mystic and Carmelite reformer canonized in 1622. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 10/17/2007)