Sibyl in the Clouds
after 1570
Medium
Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, on ivory laid paper, squared in red chalk, tipped onto ivory laid paper
Dimensions
33.7 × 26.2 cm (13 5/16 × 10 3/8 in.)
Classification
ink with wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
81798
Art Historical Context
Behold the ethereal *Sibyl in the Clouds a masterful drawing by the Genoese artist Luca Cambiaso, after 1570.iaso, a leading figure in 16th-century Mannerism was renowned for his dynamic, elongated figures inspired by Michelangelo, often twisting dramatically against luminous backgrounds. Here, the prophetic Sibyl—a classical oracle symbolizing divine wisdom—floats amid swirling clouds, embodying the Renaissance fascination with pagan seers reinterpreted through Christian allegory, much like those in the Sistine Chapel. Executed in pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash on ivory laid pap...
About the Artist
Luca Cambiaso · 1527–1585
Luca Cambiaso (1527–1585) was an Italian painter and draftsman who dominated artistic life in Genoa during the second half of the sixteenth century and became one of the most innovative draftsmen of the Late Renaissance. Born in Moneglia near Genoa, he trained under his father, the painter Giovanni Cambiaso, and demonstrated precocious talent, reportedly completing his first public fresco commissi...