The Eritrean Sibyl; from the series of Prophets and Sibyls in the Sistine Chapel
Medium
Engraving; first state of five
Dimensions
Plate: 22 7/16 in. × 17 in. (57 × 43.2 cm) Sheet: 22 15/16 × 17 5/16 in. (58.3 × 44 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Goodwin M. Breinin, 1995
Accession Number
1995.249
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Eritrean Sib*, a masterful engraving by Giorgio Ghisi Michelangelo Buonarroti's iconic fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling Created between 1570 and 1575, this first-state impression captures the prophetess in dynamic motion, her muscular form twisting as she holds a prophetic scroll. Ghisi, a leading Mannerist engraver, faithfully reproduced Michelangelo's High Renaissance vision, showcasing the artist's revolutionary anatomy and contrapposto pose that brought ancient sibyls—female oracles from classical mythology—to vivid life alongside biblical prophets. Michelangelo painted th...
About the Artist
Giorgio Ghisi|Michelangelo Buonarroti · 1520–1582
Giorgio Ghisi (c. 1520–1582) was one of the most accomplished engravers of the Italian Renaissance, renowned for translating the monumental compositions of Raphael, Giulio Romano, and Michelangelo into the exacting medium of the burin. Born in Mantua, he trained in an environment shaped by the legacy of Giulio Romano's decoration of the Palazzo del Te, and the grandeur of that Mannerist tradition ...