016

  • The Erythraean Sibyl, after the ca. 1508-12 fresco in the Vatican Sistine Chapel, Rome

  • early 1570s
  • After Michelangelo (Italian 1475-1564) by Giorgio (Mantovano) Ghisi (Italian 1520-1582)
  • Engraving
  • 56.6 x 43.3 cm., 22-1/4 x 17-1/8" image and sheet
  • Gift of Thomas E. Rassieur, Paul A. Anderson Art History Collection, Augustana College 1996.8.4

Essay by Amanda Nordstrom, Class of 2008

Giorgio Ghisi's engraving of the Erythraean Sibyl is a copy after Michelangelo's figure of the same name, one of twelve seers painted in the famous Sistine Chapel from 1508 to 1512 at the Vatican in Rome. The seers were sibyls and prophets, individuals who were said to be inspired by the gods or God. Although such images were quite popular, one could only see them in the Sistine Chapel. Ghisi shrewdly determined to make prints of many popular images within the chapel. He thus enabled people to essentially have the Sistine Chapel in their own homes. Artists also benefited from such imaging as it was easier for them to study portable versions in their own studios, freeing them from the burden and expense of traveling to various sites in order to see them in person. Since copying the masters before them was considered one of the best methods for learning art techniques, such multiple images were crucial toward their education.

By the turn of the sixteenth century, the output of engravings increased dramatically. Like many engravers of his time, Ghisi was considered a reproductive engraver, copying other artists' works and reproducing them so they could reach a wider audience (Landau and Parshall 167). The Erythraean Sibyl was one such print. The term, sibyl, comes from the ancient Greek word sibylla which means "prophetess." Sibyls were often isolated from society so they could receive new prophecies which they would then share with the people. The Erythraean Sibyl, was so named because she prophesied from a cave in the town of Erythrae. At the end of the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church adapted these Classical sibyls by accepting them as twelve pagan prophets who foretold the coming of Christ, counterparts to the Old Testament Prophets. They thus linked the ancient Greco-Roman world with the Christian era.

Michelangelo portrayed The Erythraean Sibyl as a young, idealized and somewhat masculine woman, typical of High Renaissance standards combined with the artist's own style. What makes this print appear so remarkable is all the detail that was put into it, not to mention how three-dimensional it looks, similar to the Sistine Chapel. Such reverence for masters like Michelangelo, so soon after his death, demonstrates the sixteenth-century elevation of the position of artists. Michelangelo, as a High Renaissance artist, enjoyed acclaim and was considered a genius in his own lifetime. Unlike the generally subservient roles for medieval craftsmen, artists were now appreciated as educated and talented individuals, well-versed in such fields as anatomy, theology and science, as well as artistic techniques. Michelangelo was a poet as well, illustrating the new concept of the Renaissance man, a genius with expertise in many fields. Artists like Ghisi effectively furthered Michelangelo's position for history by making his masterpieces from the Sistine Chapel more accessible to the public and future generations.