The Sibyls were mythological figures of antiquity, endowed with prophetic virtues. Made their own by Christian iconography, they were named according to their geographical origin.
This Persian Sibyl was painted by Francesco Antonio Chiozzi, a painter from Casale, during his stay in Rome. It is a copy of a famous painting by Guercino (Bolognese school of the 17th century) that Chiozzi had the opportunity to execute at the Pinacoteca Capitolina, one of the Roman places most frequented by the students of the academies.
That painting, in particular, was one of the most admired and copied by the artists during the season of the Grand Tour and often the best copies served as models in the galleries and in the European academies. It is possible to think that the copy of the Sibilla Persica of Guercino, made in 1763 by the painter Francesco Chiozzi, and replicated by him more times for English collectors during his formative stay in Rome, has been brought back to Casalmaggiore also with the intent to bring a valid model for his school of drawing started in 1769 immediately after his return.
The good execution of this painting, duller in color than the original only because the latter at the time had not yet been restored, shows an evolution in Chiozzi's pictorial style that becomes smoother, as can be deduced from the comparison with the nearby series of the four Prophets, early works made during his training period at the Accademia Clementina in Bologna.
As for the painter's interest in the Bolognese school, it is further attested by other copies by Guido Reni and Guercino present in Casalmaggiore in the church of San Francesco and in the Sanctuary of the Fountain.
Loan from Fondazione Conte Busi onlus - Casalmaggiore
