1528
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Tiburtine Sibyl and the Emperor Augustus is a 1528 by Parmigianino, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A Roman emperor in a red robe stands before a seated woman pointing upward. A glowing Virgin and Child appear in the sky above them, framed by golden light. This scene shows a legendary moment when the emperor sought the sibyl’s advice about being worshipped as a god. The vision of Mary and Jesus interrupts, signaling a new spiritual era. The painting blends drama and quiet detail in a way that feels both grand and personal. You might also look up The Cleveland Museum of Art to see where this painting lives.
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…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 1503 – 24 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (UK: , US: , Italian: ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist…
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