- Museum number
- 1887,0502.118
- Description
-
Study for the drapery of the Erythraean Sibyl, seated to right with legs crossed. 1508-12
Brown wash and pen and dark brown ink over a black chalk under-drawing
Verso: study of a sibyl seated to right with legs crossed, looking down; an scheme for the decoration of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel; and a left hand
Grey-brown and black chalk over stylus (the sibyl); grey-brown chalk (the scheme); black chalk over stylus (the hand)
- Production date
- 1508-1512
- Dimensions
-
Height: 384 millimetres
-
Width: 258 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- The recto drawing is a detailed study for the drapery of the Erythraen Sybil on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It was produced in the customary Florentine manner described in Vasari's 'Vita' of Leonardo whereby cloth is dipped in wet clay and then arranged on a small model or lay figure. The study thus helps to link Michelangelo with a 'standard quattrocento workshop practice, specifically one used in the Ghirlandaio circle' (Carmen Bambach, 1993). The study was in all likelihood executed immediately prior to the cartoon of the Sybil - although the drapery in the fresco has become considerably simplified.
Perceived inconsistencies in technique caused Dussler to discount the attribution to Michelangelo; the drawing is quite clearly of a piece however, the whole of the figure being outlined in black chalk before the working up of the drapery. J.A Gere and N. Turner (1979) observe that the 'deliberate building up of the sculptural form by a complex system of hatching and cross hatching can be seen in embryo even in such very early drawings as the Philosopher (W1).'
The rapidly drawn sketch on the verso of a twisted seated figure is an early study for the same Sibyl - with barely discernable putti to either side. Rapidly drawn subsequently is the summary ceiling sketch beneath: it indicates the division of the vault and the positions of the prophets and sibyls, clarifying the fictive architecture within the vault. The l. hand, partly drawn over the ceiling sketch, was first delineated with a stylus before being swiftly gone over in a hard black chalk which almost scratches the surface of the paper in the area of shadow on the top of the hand. Michelangelo has adjusted l. contour. Wilde identifies the hand as intended for the figure to the left of Noah in the scene of 'Noah's Sacrifice' near to the Erythraean Sibyl. For a detailed analysis of the ceiling sketch and its position within Michelangelo's planning of the Sistine ceiling see Weil Garris Brandt (1992).
Watermark: Mermaid in circle: large (see, J. Roberts, 'A Dictionary of Michelangelo's Watermarks', Milan, 1988, p. 25)
Lit.: L. Goldscheider, 'Michelangelo Drawings', London, 1951, fig. 172 (as Taddeo Zuccaro); J. Wilde, 'Italian Drawings in the BM, Michelangelo and his Studio', London, 1953, no. 10, pp. 21-3 (with further literature); L. Dussler, 'Die Zeichnungen des Michelangelo', Berlin, 1959 (verso), no. 325 (attributed to Michelangelo), p. 178 (recto), no. 566 (as apocryphally attributed to Michelangelo), pp. 259-60; P. Barocchi, 'Michelangelo e la sua scuola: i disegni di Casa Buonarroti e degli Uffizi', Florence, 1962, I, recto under no. 227 (= de Tolnay 142), pp. 276-7, verso under no. 16 (= de Tolnay 140), pp. 27-8; F. Hartt, 'The Drawings of Michelangelo', London, 1971, no. 83 (verso), no. 84 (recto), pp. 82-3; J.A. Gere and N. Turner, in exhib. cat., London, BM, 'Drawings by Michelangelo', 1975, no. 17, pp. 26-7; C. de Tolnay, 'Corpus dei disegni di Michelangelo', Novara, 1975, I, no. 154; J.A.Gere and N. Turner, in exhib. cat., New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, 'Drawings by Michelangelo from the BM', 1979, no. 6, pp. 37-9; M. Hirst, 'Michelangelo and his Drawings', New Haven and London, 1988, p. 71, fig. 153; G.C. Argan and B. Contardi, 'Michelangelo architetto', Milan, 1990, pp. 60-3, fig. 62; F. Mancinelli, 'La progettazione della volta della Cappella Sistina di Michelangelo', in H. Craig Smyth (ed), 'Studies in the History of Art. 33. Michelangelo Drawings', Washington, 1992, pp. 43-55; K. Weil Garris Brandt, 'Michelangelo's Early Projects for the Sistine Ceiling: their Practical and Artistic Consequences', in H. Craig Smyth (ed), 'Studies in the History of Art. 33. Michelangelo Drawings', Washington, 1992, pp. 57-87; C. Bambach, 'A Review of M. Hirst, 'Michelangelo and His Drawings'', "The Art Bulletin", 72, 3, 1993, pp. 493-8; H. Chapman, in exhib. cat., BM, 'Michelangelo Drawings: closer to the master', 2005, no. 19; C.C. Bambach, in exhib. cat., New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman & Designer’, 2017, nos 51 (verso) and 52 (recto), p. 294.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
1964 BM, Michelangelo, no. 10
1975 Feb-Apr, BM, Drawings by Michelangelo, no. 17
1979 Apr-Jul, New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, 'Drawings by Michelangelo from the BM', no.6
1990 Apr-Aug, BM, Treasures of P&D (no cat.)
2005/6 Oct-Jan, Haarlem, Teylers Museum, 'Michelangelo Drawings: Closer to the Master'
2006 Mar-Jun, BM, 'Michelangelo Drawings: Closer to the Master'
2017-18 Nov-Feb, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 'Michelangelo Divine Draftsman and Designer' (recto/verso)
2019-2020 30 Nov-8 Mar, Lyon, Musee des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Drapery
- Acquisition date
- 1887
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1887,0502.118
