After Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, called Il Viterbese

This composition replicates Giovanni Francesco Romanelli's Sibyl (Rome, Galleria Borghese) of between 1640 and 1650. ¹ In classical mythology, sibyls were ancient prophets who, inspired by Apollo, made divine predictions and foretold the coming of Christ. These legendary oracles inspired generations of Italian painters from the fifteenth century onward. In this depiction, a turbaned Sibyl, entranced in a prophetic vision, gazes into the distance. Wielding a quill in her right hand, she appears prepared to document her prophecy in the open book before her.

¹ Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, Sybil. Rome, Galleria Borghese, inv. no. 051.