The Persian Sibyl

This work is after Guercino's Persian Sibyl, painted in 1647, now in the Musei Capitolini, Rome (inv. no. 146), where it has been since the museum was established in 1750 (then the Museo del Campidoglio). While this painting is dated to 1775, Kauffman would have seen Guercino's composition during her time in Rome from 1758-1766, where she received her early training as a painter, studied classical art, and began her career as a history painter.