The Persian Sibyl

The attribution to Procaccini was first accepted by William E. Suida (private correspondance, 16 October 1948) and has been recently confirmed by Dr. Hugh Brigstocke (private correspondance, 8 October 2008). Dr. Brigstocke suggests a date of circa 1620, comparing the color scheme to Procaccini's Madonna and Child with San Carlo and San Francesco in Santa Maria di Carignano, Genoa. He further notes that this sibyl, painted during the period when Procaccini's style was becoming increasingly academic, lacks the weaknesses sometimes found in the artist's later works.

The subject of a sibyl is an unusual one for Procaccini, although one of nearly identical measurements is in the collection of the Castello Sforzesco, Milan, also undocumented. A copy after the present work was sold at Christie's London, 9 December 1994, lot 362.