Study for a Sibyl

Michelangelo Buonarroti (after)

Summary

A reproduction produced by the Vasari Society of a drawing by Michelangelo. The drawing shows the body of a figure, identified in the accompanying text as a woman, with head turned to one side. The person's clothing is long and falls in large folds of fabric. The drawing is dense, and traces of other sketches can be seen beneath the main figure; a smaller figure is visible to the left hand side of the drawing. Architectural details can be seen in the background, including an archway on the right hand side. Text from the accompanying booklet produced by the Vasari Society: "No. 4 MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI (b. 1475; d. 1564) STUDY FOR A SIBYL British Museum, 1887-5-2-115. From the Cicciaporci, Cavaceppi, Ottley, Lawrence, Woodburn, and Vaughan Collections. Pen and bistre, over traces of red chalk. 42 x 28.5 cm. (16 1/2 x 11 1/2 in.). This drawing was formerly accepted as a study for the Prophet Isaiah; but Steinmann and Frey are clearly right in their contention that the figure is that of a female. It would seem that the artist originally intended the design for a Sibyl, but having discarded it, utilized the pose of the hands for his Isaiah. On the reverse side, in pen and bistre, a scene described by Berenson as an 'Ecclesiastical Ceremonial', by others as a 'Scene in a Roman Law-court', 'The offering of Joachim', &c. It is by a later hand. [Berenson, Drawings of the Florentine Painters, No. 1486; Thode, Kritische Untersuchungen, 1908, p. 255; Frey, Die Handzeichnungen Michalagniolos, vol. iii, p. 115; The Lawrence Gallery, Tenth Exhibition, No. 63.] A. S."