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Hellespontine Sibyl

Italian 15th Century

1401

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Allegory

Dominant colour

Hellespontine Sibyl is a 1401 ink by Italian 15th Century, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Italian 15th Century
When & what style?: 1401 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This image shows a woman wrapped in flowing robes, holding a scroll and a staff topped with a ring of snakes. Her face is serious, and she stands against a plain background with a few plants at the bottom. Above her head, a banner unfurls with strange, looping text. The word *Sibyl* in the title means she’s a prophetess from ancient stories. The artist used lines to create deep shadows and textures, making the robes look heavy. Next, look up engraving to see how artists like this carved images into metal plates.

About the artist

Artist

Italian 15th Century

This anonymous Italian engraver from the 1490s carved images that could be peeled apart like paper dolls—each knot in the "First Knot" print was cut from a single sheet so you could lift the loops right off the page.

See the richer artist page