Artwork Page for Augustus and the Tiburtine Sibyl

Details / Information for Augustus and the Tiburtine Sibyl

Augustus and the Tiburtine Sibyl

1570s

Marco Angolo del Moro

(Italian, c. 1537–d. after 1586)
Culture
Italy, 16th century
Medium
Etching with engraving on paper
Measurements
Sheet: 27 x 39.7 cm (10 5/8 x 15 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 2018.209
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

The story portrayed in this etching was understood as a turning point from paganism to Christianity during the Roman era.

Description

The Roman Emperor Augustus and the Tiburtine Sybil (a Roman prophetess) embrace in a lush landscape. A 12th-century legend told that Augustus consulted the sybil to ask if he should be deified after his death. He received a vision of the Virgin and Child, depicted above, which swayed him away from his pagan beliefs. Del Moro’s effortless blend of narrative and landscape was typical of works by artists from the region around Venice.
A horizontally oriented etching with engraving in black ink on paper depicts a woman pointing toward a woman holding a child nestled in clouds. A kneeling man wearing armor and a leaf crown gazes upward from a rocky cliffside on the right. To the left, a river winds through a wooded landscape past a farmhouse toward distant mountains. Fine lines create deep shadows and textures throughout the scene. Below, the words 'MARCO RVI'.

Augustus and the Tiburtine Sibyl

1570s

Marco Angolo del Moro

(Italian, c. 1537–d. after 1586)
Italy, 16th century

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