Copy after Cortona's Augustus and the Tiburtine Sibyl
ArtistWorkshop of
Pietro da Cortona
(Italian, 1596 - 1669)
Dateca. late 1660s
CultureItalian
MediumOil on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN133
The Roman Emperor Augustus was shown a vision of Christ by the Tiburtine Sibyl. Although Christ was not born until later, Augustus built an altar consecrated to the god whose arrival was heralded by the prophetess. This scene was a popular subject in Baroque Rome because it reinforced the connection between pagan and Christian epochs of the city's history. This work is based on a composition by Cortona now in the Museum in Nancy (France) that was originally made for Marsileo Tomassi da Cortona. It was a common practice for replicas of important paintings to be made by the artist or their workshop either as records or for delivery to patrons who preferred a copy of an excellent work to an original composition.
On View
Not on viewImage: 57 1/4 x 53 1/2 in. (145.4 x 135.9 cm)
Girolamo Romanino
