The rhetorical language of posture, gesture and expression, which was well known from theatre and the art of illusion that was used to create mystic, eternal or supra-natural worlds, dominated the religious architecture and imagery of the Baroque. Illusion tricks both the eyes and the ears to make artworks the more effective and powerful, absorbing the viewer into the artwork and inviting participation in the scene itself, even into stories from the Bible. A church altar can be viewed as a frozen theatrum sacrum (sacra rappresentazione), opening up as a monumental, mystic theatrical stage in front of the faithful, who, invited to enter the scene, then become part of the dramatic moment in order to express and deepen their faith.