The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 6, 2024

Sibyl Reading with a Child Holding a Torch

Sibyl Reading with a Child Holding a Torch

1518–27
(Italian, c. 1479–c. 1532)
after a model by

Raphael

(Italian, 1483–1520)
Italy, 16th century
chiaroscuro woodcut
Platemark: 26.8 x 21.8 cm (10 9/16 x 8 9/16 in.); Sheet: 27.5 x 22.6 cm (10 13/16 x 8 7/8 in.)
Delia E. Holden Fund 1979.93
Catalogue raisonné: Bartsch 6
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The large number of surviving prints of this subject suggests it was one of the most repeated Italian chiaroscuro woodcut designs.

Description

As the innovator of the chiaroscuro process in Italy, Ugo's greatest achievement was the use of three- and four-tone blocks to simulate the subtleties of Raphael's ink wash drawings. Using woodcut, he duplicated the powerful contours, simplified forms, and spontaneous appearance of the Italian master's graphics.

Here, the print shows a sitting Sybil who is reading a book to a child holding a torch to illuminate the room. The design for Sibyl Reading has been traditionally ascribed to Raphael based on the several sibylline figures (one of whom is accompanied by a putto holding a torch) in the master's decorations for the Capella Chigi, Santa Maria della Pace, Rome (1511–14), though there is no direct correspondence.
  • ?-1979
    (William H. Schab Gallery, New York, NY)
    November 14, 1979
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1979." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 67, no. 3 (1980): 58-99. Reproduced: cat. no. 6, p. 67 www.jstor.org
  • Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003).
    Printing in Color. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10-November 17, 1985).
    Year in Review: 1979. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 13-March 9, 1980).
  • {{cite web|title=Sibyl Reading with a Child Holding a Torch|url=false|author=Ugo da Carpi, Raphael|year=1518–27|access-date=06 December 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1979.93