A Sibyl
Primary
Luca Cambiaso
(Moneglia, Italy, 1527–El Escorial, Spain, 1585)
NationalityItalian, Europe
Datemid 1570s
MediumPen and iron gall ink with brush and brown wash over black chalk, dissolved
DimensionsSheet: 9 5/8 × 6 11/16 in. (24.4 × 17 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Suida-Manning Collection, 2017.956
Rights Statement
Collection AreaPrints and Drawings
Object number2017.956
On View
Not on viewThis drawing embodies the transition from the dynamic calligraphy of Cambiaso’s early draftsmanship to the abstract geometry of his later style. The com-pactness of the figure’s form, the boldness of its illumination, and its placement within a pendentive indicate a preliminary idea for architectural decoration, whether of actual space or within a painted composition. Similarly constructed figures of prophets are rendered in monochrome in the lateral compositions of the Lercari Chapel in Genoa’s cathedral
Exhibitions
