Sibyl Reading with a Child Holding a Torch

Description

As the innovator of the chiaroscuro process in Italy, Ugo's greatest achievement was the use of three- and four-tone blocks to simulate the subtleties of Raphael's ink wash drawings. Using woodcut, he duplicated the powerful contours, simplified forms, and spontaneous appearance of the Italian master's graphics.

Here, the print shows a sitting Sybil who is reading a book to a child holding a torch to illuminate the room. The design for Sibyl Reading has been traditionally ascribed to Raphael based on the several sibylline figures (one of whom is accompanied by a putto holding a torch) in the master's decorations for the Capella Chigi, Santa Maria della Pace, Rome (1511–14), though there is no direct correspondence.

Provenance

(William H. Schab Gallery, New York, NY) (?-1979); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 14, 1979)

Sibyl Reading with a Child Holding a Torch

Ugo da Carpi

1518–27

Accession Number

1979.93

Medium

chiaroscuro woodcut

Dimensions

Platemark: 26.8 x 21.8 cm (10 9/16 x 8 9/16 in.); Sheet: 27.5 x 22.6 cm (10 13/16 x 8 7/8 in.)

Classification

Print

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Delia E. Holden Fund