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Francesco Rosselli

The Cumean Sibyl

1480/90
Engraving on paper
17.9 × 10.5 cm (7 × 4.1 in)

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● On view now — Gallery 204

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The Cumean Sibyl is part of a series of engravings of 36 male and female prophets. In this image, the inscription on the pages of the sibyl’s open book contains a passage from Virgil’s Fourth Eclogue , which was interpreted as an early prophecy of Christ’s birth. Because of this supposed prophecy, Virgil and the Cumean Sibyl were viewed by early Christians as ancients who would have been Christians had the religion existed in their time. The Cumean Sibyl also served as Virgil’s guide to the underworld in the Aeneid .

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