A Sibyl Reading a book facing right

A seated woman in a long gown and bound hair rests one hand on a large open book held on a ledge, looking toward it. A young boy in a short tunic stands at right, holding a lit candle up toward the pages, while a small dog sits near his feet. The brown chiaroscuro woodcut uses fine hatching and two tones of ink to model the stone wall and the figures' soft drapery.

Look closer: A monogram letter R is incised on the wall at the upper right.

Artist

Ugo da Carpi

Date

ca. 1517–18

Medium

Chiaroscuro woodcut from two blocks in brown

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2804 × 3412 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1922