Giovanni Francesco Barbieri known as Guercino (Cento 1591-Bologna 1666)
The Libyan Sibyl 1651
RCIN 405340
This late work by Guercino (‘The Squinter’) is one of a pair of Sibyls painted for Ippolito Cattani of Bologna. It depicts the Libyan Sibyl who prophesied the coming of Christ to the Gentiles. She is usually shown holding a lighted torch, but Guercino identifies her here by the inscription on the book.
