The Persian and Cumean Sibyls after Pinturicchio, by Solomon Alexander Hart, RA (1806-1881)

The Persian and Cumean Sibyls after Pinturicchio

Solomon Alexander Hart, RA (1806-1881)

25 February 1842

Bodycolour and pencil on cream wove paper

185 mm x 152 mm

Collection of the Royal Academy of Arts

Object number 03/7327

Bequeathed by Richard Phené Spiers, 1916

Copies of frescos on the presbytery vault of Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, attributed to Bernardino (di Betto) Pinturicchio (c.1452-1513). [Commentary continues below.]

Image capture, formatting and text by Jacqueline Banerjee.

Image reproduced here by kind permission of the Royal Academy. [Click on image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.]

The RA's commentary continues,

These drawings all relate to Solomon Hart's visit to Italy in 1841-1842. The artist was advised to travel in Europe by the Duke of Sussex, whose portrait he was painting. Leaving England in September 1841, with letters of introduction from the Duke, Hart spent a year in Italy producing topographical and architectural sketches as well as small watercolour copies of paintings and frescoes. Originally he intended to publish some of his travel drawings as engravings but instead they formed the basis for a number of paintings of Italian history and interiors.

There is more detail about this trip in his biography. These particularly delightful drawings show semi-recumbent women, one looking heavenwards, as if taking instruction from the angels, and the other acquiring wisdom by reading. The Sybils were a popular subject for the Italian School: in this context, Pinturicchio shows them, with the four Evangelists and the early Doctors of the church, around a scene of the Coronation of the Virgin. They are viewed as being among those who foresaw and helped to unfold the sacred narrative.

Bibliography

"The Persian and Cumean Sibyls after Pinturicchio, 25 February 1842." Royal Academy. Web. 14 September 2018.

Fanfani, Edoardo. "The Roman Anglian: The Choir of Santa Maria del Popolo" (this beautifully illustrated site shows the originals from which Hart worked). Web. 14 September 2018.

Created 14 September 2018