Portrait of Eritrean Sibyl Giampietro Zanotti (Paris 1674 – Bologna 1765)

Portrait of Eritrean Sibyl writing the prophecy – Bolognese school of the early eighteenth century

Attributable to Giampietro Cavazzoni Zanotti (Paris, 1674 – Bologna, 1765)

oil painting on canvas

Dimensions: 64 x 50 cm., in frame 76 x 63 cm.

Full details of the painting (link)

This pleasant painting immortalizes a young Sibyl, presented intent on drawing up her response, with her gaze turned upwards, to evoke the moment in which she will receive divine revelations. According to Greek and Roman mythology, the sibyls were in fact virgins endowed with prophetic virtues inspired by a god, usually Apollo, capable of providing responses and making predictions.

From a monochrome background, presumably illuminated by candlelight, the girl's complexion stands out, dressed simply, with her face framed by the classic turban veil, a typical attribute of these prophetic figures.

Of the mythical seers of antiquity she has the adolescent grace, traditionally referred to them by Bolognese painting, to which the painting belongs for full evidence of style, as if the author intended to rethink the entire iconographic structure of a pictorial subject that in Bologna had been codified on the basis of the celebrated models created by the founder Guido Reni.

Going into detail about the stylistic characteristics, the peculiarities of the Bolognese school are highlighted; the canvas reveals strong stylistic and compositional affinities with the creations from Lorenzo Pasinelli's workshop, so much so that its execution can be traced back to a painter from his close circle. In fact, the typology of the faces refers to Pasinelli, who taught a host of valid students throughout his very long artistic activity.

The painting, as suggested by an inscription on the back of the frame, could be in particular a valuable addition to the catalog of Giampietro Zanotti Cavazzoni, protagonist of the Bolognese artistic culture of the eighteenth century, a pupil in the workshop of Lorenzo Pasinelli, whose influence marked his entire production.

The painting is in good condition, with a beautiful gilded wooden frame.

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