Keywords: Italian School, Old Master, Baroque, Sibyl, Classical, Mythology, Prophetess, Figural, Italian Art, 17th Century , Old Master Style, Oil On Canvas

Summary:
After Giovanni Francesco Romanelli (Italian, 1610–1662). Oil on canvas painting *The Sibyl*, shown seated in flowing red drapery and holding an inscribed scroll. The composition derives from Romanelli’s celebrated depiction of the classical prophetess,

The Cumaean Sibyl was the legendary prophetess associated with Cumae in ancient Italy and is especially known through Virgil’s Aeneid. Sibyls became important subjects in Renaissance and Baroque art, where their ancient prophecies were interpreted within the Christian tradition as foretelling the coming of Christ.

Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, called Il Viterbese, was an Italian Baroque painter born in Viterbo circa 1610. He worked extensively in Rome and became associated with the circle of Pietro da Cortona. Romanelli developed a successful career producing religious, mythological and historical compositions and also worked in France during the reign of Louis XIV. His treatment of Sibyl subjects became particularly well known. The Galleria Borghese preserves another Romanelli Sibyl, dated circa 1640–1650.

Measurement: Art: 25 x 20 in. (63.5 x 50.8 cm.), Frame: 34 x 28 in. (86.4 x 71.1 cm.) approx

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