Portrait of a Lady as a Sibyl

Guido Reni, artist

1575–1642

Portrait of a Lady as a Sibyl, circa 1640

Where object was made: Italy

Material/technique: oil; canvas

Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 74.9 x 63.5 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 29 1/2 x 25 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 39 x 33 3/4 in

Credit line: Gift from the Samuel H. Kress Study Collection

Accession number: 1960.0052

Not on display

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Label texts

While the name of the sitter in this portrait remains a mystery, the choice to depict her as a sibyl - a group of learned, pagan prophetesses who foretold the coming of Jesus - demonstrates values about gender and learning in 17th-century Bologna. Taking on the allegorical guise of learned women from literary sources like the Bible was a coded strategy for women in early Modern Europe to convey not only personal scholary achievement but further underscored the importance of education for women among elite families. The choice of painter Guido Reni to depict this woman in a bejeweled turban also reveals an affinity for the foreign and exotic that was fashionable at the time. [It has also been suggested that this painting is by Giovanni Andrea Sirani.]

Exhibition Label:
"Corpus," Apr-2012, Kris Ercums
While the name of the sitter in this portrait remains a mystery, the choice to depict her as a sibyl - a group of learned, pagan prophetesses who foretold the coming of Jesus - demonstrates values about gender and learning in 17th-century Bologna. Taking on the allegorical guise of learned women from literary sources like the Bible was a coded strategy for women in early Modern Europe to convey not only personal scholary achievement but further underscored the importance of education for women among elite families. The choice of painter Guido Reni to depict this woman in a bejeweled turban also reveals an affinity for the foreign and exotic that was fashionable at the time. [It has also been suggested that this painting is by Giovanni Andrea Sirani.]

Archive Label 2009:
This painting of a sibyl, a term that refers to a group of pagan prophetesses thought to have foretold the coming of Christ, has one of the most distinguished histories of any object in the Spencer Museum of Art. By 1653 it was in the collection of Cardinal Mazarin, the chief minister of Louis XIV, and later became part of the collection of the dukes of Orléans. Due to the persecution of aristocrats during the French Revolution the paint¬ing was sent to England, where it was part of the celebrated sale of the Orléans collection at the end of the eighteenth century. It belonged to several important English collectors before Samuel H. Kress purchased it in 1951.

Archive Label 2002:
This painting has one of the most distinguished histories of any object in the Spencer Museum. It was already in the collection of Cardinal Mazarin, the chief minister of Louis XIV, in 1653 and later descended into the collection of the Duc d'Orleans. At the French Revolution the painting was sent via Belgium to England, where it was part of the celebrated sale of the Orléans collection at the end of the eighteenth century. It belonged to several important English collectors before Samuel H. Kress purchased it in 1951.

Even though the Sibyl can be traced to within eleven years of Guido Reni's death, some scholars have questioned the authenticity of this painting. It has been suggested that a close follower of Reni painted the work, or that it was a collaborative work between Reni and one of his students.

However, Portrait of a Lady as a Sibyl shows some stylistic elements that are distinctively Reniesque, such as the soft and fleshy hands, emphasizing subtle gestures. The tightly crinkled, flowing folds of the sibyl’s cloth drapery are significant for Reni’s late style, that is characterized by the increasing use of white paint, lack of tonality and loose brushstrokes. The face of the sibyl with the tightly curly hair and the worldly look suggests that the painting is a portrait of a lady in the costume of a sibyl. Even though Reni was best known for his religious and mythological works, he also painted several secular portraits, paying attention to capture the characteristics of the person’s face.

Archive Label (early):
Although in its present condition this painting can only be attributed to the studio of Guido Reni, this image of a Sibyl has one of the most distinguished histories of any painting in the Spencer Museum. It is documented as being in the collection of Cardinal Mazarin, the chief minister of Louis XIV, in 1653, only eleven years after the death of Reni. It later passed into the collection of the ducs de’Orléans, and at the Revolution went, via Belgium, to England where it was part of the celebrated sale of the Orléans collection at the end of the eighteenth century. The Sibyl belonged to several important English collectors, the last being the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, before it was acquired by Samuel Kress in 1951.
In addition to problems of attribution, questions have been raised as to whether this picture was indeed the one in Mazarin’s collection. However, while a 1786 engraving of the picture suggests it was then slightly larger, the dimensions provided on the engraving match not only those given in a 1727 catalogue, but those of the picture today.