Roman school; second half of the 17th century. "Libyan Sibyl". Oil on canvas, Relined.

Roman school; second half of the 17th century. "Libyan Sibyl". Oil on canvas, Relined.

Roman school; second half of the 17th century.
"Libyan Sibyl".
Oil on canvas, Relined.
Presents an addition of later period, repainting, and faults in the right margin.
Measures: 66 x 50 cm; 86 x 70 cm (frame).
Of Egyptian origin the Libyan sibyl, also known as Libya, was responsible for communicating to Alexander the Great his great future as a conqueror. In ancient Greek mythology, the Sibyl was a prophetess, sometimes inspired by Apollo and whose powers had a divine origin. However, the number of these women soon increased from three to twelve, in all cases without knowing their names, but knowing them only by the name of the place where they lived. It was the Renaissance who recovered this figure, considering them heralds of Christ in the pagan tradition in order to give value to it and "Christianize" it. Of all the works in which they appear, the best known is probably Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Vault, which shows the five most representative of the time (Eritrea, Persian, Libyan, Cumaean and Delphic).
Within the Italian school it was common, since the Renaissance, to represent Sibyls in compositions similar to those of contemporary portraiture, as ladies richly attired in the fashion of the time. In fact, there are known examples of works in which important aristocrats are portrayed as sibyls, both in Italy and in other countries. In fact, Velázquez himself portrayed his wife, Juana Pacheco, as a sibyl (1632, Museo del Prado). We can also find more recent examples, such as "La sibila de la Alpujarra", a portrait of the singer Carmen Casena made in 1911 by Julio Romero de Torres, currently kept in his museum. At a formal level, it is also worth noting that it is a work where we can appreciate a pictorial influence of the Roman school, the chromatism, warm and around a palette and the perfection of the drawing, as well as the regularity and balance of the ideal face of the figure, which refers to a sensitivity close to a language of classical character.