Tiburtine Sibyl and the Emperor Augustus (c. 1527–30/31): Art, History and Details

Tiburtine Sibyl and the Emperor Augustus (c. 1527–30/31) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Parmigianino (Italian, 1503–1540); Antonio da Trento (Italian, c. 1508–c. 1550).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This print depicts the Roman Emperor Augustus (reigned 27 BC–AD 14) and the Tiburtine Sybil, one of several women that Apollo bestowed with prophetic powers. Augustus was deciding whether or not to accept apotheosis (recognition of the emperor as a god after death) and asked the Tiburtine Sybil for advice. At the moment the two met on the Capitoline Hill, the Madonna and Christ the Child appeared before them, revealing the coming of the child as the one who would have surpassed Augustus in ruling the world. Upon the site of the vision, Augustus had built an altar, the Aracoeli. Later, on the same spot, the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli was erected. Antonio da Trento probably made this print under the direct supervision of Parmigianino. In later printings, Antonio da Trento's line block went through two state changes. The CMA example represents the second state, characterized by the addition of hatching to the cheek of the attendant at the left of the composition.

Object facts

• Title: Tiburtine Sibyl and the Emperor Augustus
• Date: c. 1527–30/31
• Creator attribution: Parmigianino (Italian, 1503–1540); Antonio da Trento (Italian, c. 1508–c. 1550)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Print
• Technique: chiaroscuro woodcut (in brown-green and black)
• Dimensions: Sheet: 34.1 x 25.9 cm (13 7/16 x 10 3/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Chiaroscuro
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1923.115

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Goldfarb, Hilliard T. “Chiaroscuro Woodcut Technique and Andrea Andreani.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 68, no. 9 (November 1981): 307–330.
• Takahatake, Naoko, et al. The Chiaroscuro Woodcut in Renaissance Italy. Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art ; Munich ; New York : DelMonico Books/Prestel, 2018.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.