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The anonymous painter of this panel may have trained in Haarlem, but his attributed works seem to have all been produced in Leuven. He was one of the most skillful follower of Dieric Bouts the Elder. He is referred to as the master of the Tiburtine Sibyl after the present painting in which Caesar Augustus consults the Tiburtine Sibyl, asking her if there would ever be a man greater than himself. According to legend, the seer responded that on the very day a child was born of a virgin, who would become the king of kings. She pointed to the Ara Coeli, a heavenly altar seen in the sky as a sign.
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