Sibille van Cumae 1828

Antonio Perfetti created this engraving of the Cumaean Sibyl in the 19th century, capturing her as a seer of classical antiquity. She is depicted holding a scroll, a symbol of the prophecies she delivers. The motif of the scroll, or book, is one that weaves through the history of art, signifying knowledge, revelation, and fate. We see this attribute repeated through ancient depictions of philosophers holding scrolls, and also the prophets of the Old Testament. Consider how the Sibyl’s gaze—wide, almost startled—connects with our own sense of uncertainty about the future, and how this resonates deeply with humankind’s collective anxieties. The symbols associated with the Sibyl—her penetrating gaze, her scroll of fate—have resurfaced, evolved, and taken on new meanings in different historical contexts.