''The Persian Sibyl'' is a 1647 oil on canvas painting of the

Persian Sibyl Michelangelo's rendering of the Persian Sibyl By Santa Maria degli Scalzi ">calzi,_Venice.html" ;"title="Giuseppe Torretto Scalzi, Venice">Santa Maria degli Scalzi The Persian Sibyl - also known as the Babylonian, Chaldaean, Hebrew or Egyptia ...

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as Guercino, or il Guercino , was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vi ...

, now in the

Musei Capitolini The Capitoline Museums (Italian: ''Musei Capitolini'') are a group of art and archaeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Pala ...

in Rome.

History

It was commissioned between 1645 and 1647 by Carlo Rondinelli, governor of

Cento The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Tur ...

. P. Bagni, D. De Grazia, D. Mahon, F. Gozzi and A. Emiliani, ''Giovanni Francesco Barbieri Il Guercino 1591-1666'', a cura di Denis Mahon, Bologna, Nuova Alfa Editoriale, 1991, ISBN 9788877792846, p 298 The first definite mention of it is in the painter's account book, which shows the moment of payment for it on completion - 259 lire were paid, equal to just over 64 scudi. The date was two weeks after the completion of his ''The Phrygian Sibyl'', commissioned for Girolamo Albergati,

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

's ambassador to Rome, now in an English private collection: S. Guarino and P. Masini, ''Pinacoteca capitolina - Catalogo generale'', in ''Musei in Comune'', Roma, Editore Mondadori Electa, 2006, p. 130 "On 6 June. Received from Sig. Co. Carlo Rondingelli Gov.re di Cento dopie d'Italia n. 17 1⁄2 orthe Painting of the Persian Sibyl, which makes 259 lire - which was 64 scudi, 3 lire". The artist also painted '' The Libyan Sibyl'' ( Royal Collection) and ''The Samian Sibyl'' (private collection) as a pair in 1651, along with another '' The Samian Sibyl'' in 1652-1653 (

Palazzo Reale This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

). The work entered the

Pio di Savoia Pio (later Pio di Savoia), an ancient noble Italian family, was first mentioned by good authorities in the 14th century. After having long contended for the city of Modena with the House of Este, in 1336 they eventually agreed to renounce it, on c ...

collection in the mid 17th century, acquired by cardinal Carlo Francesco between 1655 and 1663, during his time as papal legate to Ferrara, Rondinelli's birthplace. It was then displayed in 1697 as part of an annual display at

San Salvatore in Lauro San Salvatore in Lauro is a Catholic church in central Rome, Italy. It is located on a piazza of the same name in the rione Ponte. It stands on Via Vecchiarelli, just south of the Lungotevere Tor di Nona and north of via dei Coronari. Within Rom ...

in Rome, entitled "A Sibyl by Guercino". It was still in the Pio collection in a 1724 inventory before being bought with the rest of the Pio collection by

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

in 1750 for the city of Rome and its new Museo del Campidoglio (now the Musei Capitolini). The work then fell into obscurity for over 200 years due to several revarnishings which had deteriorated and it was even downgraded to a studio work by the brothers

Cesare Cesare, the Italian language, Italian version of the given name Caesar (title), Caesar, may refer to: Given name * Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria (1738–1794), an Italian philosopher and politician * Cesare Airaghi (1840–1896), Italian colonel ...

and Bartolomeo Gennari. The true attribution was only restored after a restoration in 1990-1991 which especially improved the visibility of the signature.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Persian Sibyl Paintings in the Capitoline Museums Paintings by Guercino 1647 paintings Paintings of sibyls