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The Samian Sibyl with a Putto

Guercino (1591–1666)

The National Gallery, London

The Samian Sibyl with a Putto

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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The Samian Sibyl was one of 12 pagan sibyls (or priestesses) who, like the Old Testament prophets, were said to have foretold the coming of Christ. The Samian Sibyl, named after the Greek island of Samos, was an oracle of Apollo and prophesied that Christ would be born to a virgin mother, as the inscription on her scroll indicates.Sibyls were popular in Italian art and were commonly shown with books or scrolls, alluding to the Sybilline Books in which their prophecies were recorded. Here the Samian Sibyl rests her elbow on one book while reading from another, and a large tome sits on the table in front of her, open at a page with elegant script. This painting was made in 1651 for Gioseffo Locatelli of Cesena. Guercino also made The Cumaean Sibyl with a Putto for Locatelli (also in the National Gallery collection) but was convinced by Prince Mattias de' Medici to sell it to him instead, so The Samian Sibyl was produced as its replacement.

The National Gallery, London

London

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Title

The Samian Sibyl with a Putto

Date

1651

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 218.5 x W 180 cm

Accession number

NG6618

Acquisition method

Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Gallery, 2012

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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Artist or maker

Guercino

1591–1666

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