CRETI, Donato
(b. 1671, Cremona, d. 1749, Bologna)

Sibyl

1718-22
Oil on canvas, 44 x 38 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The painting probably depicts the Cumaean Sibyl. The Latin words on the sheet unrolled by the standing Cupid mean "He will be born of a Virgin" and, according to certain Christian exegetes, refer to the advent of the Redeemer. As a result, the Cumaean figure is one of the most commonly portrayed Sibyls in the art of the modern age.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.