“Sibilla Persica” oil on canvas, a work made between the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Large painting, of excellent quality, depicting the Persian Sibyl. Coeval frame, re-painted, the surface has no previous restorations, apart from small touches to be done, it is in excellent condition.
The painting is a copy of the “Persian Sibyl” of 1647, preserved in the Capitoline Museums, in Rome, by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino (1591-1666), one of the most important Italian painters of the 17th century.
The Sibyl is a mythological figure present in both Greek and Roman culture. The classical tradition tells us that she was dealing with virgin women endowed with prophetic virtues, derived from the intercession of a divinity (which was usually Apollo); they were therefore able to provide responses or make predictions and were worshiped for this. The first historical reference to the Sibyls is found among the works of Plato where, however, he indicates only one. Varrone will be the first to provide a real list of these mythological figures among which the Persian Sibyl will also appear, the subject of this portrait, counted among the oldest. The classical tradition divided them into groups, based on their geographical origin: oriental, Greek-Ionic and Greek-Italic; the Persian Sibyl (or Persian) belonged to the eastern group.
Period: Between the 18th and early 19th centuries
Measurements: In frame H 145 x W 109 x D 4 / Canvas H 135 x L 98.5 cm
