Watercolour, Copy after Michelangelo’s fresco of the ‘Delphic Sibyl’ on the Sistine Chapel vault (Sistine Chapel, Rome, 1511-1512), Signature in black ink on the bottom right corner of the painted section ‘C. Mariannecci fece. Roma.1867’, 1867.

Watercolour on paperboard. Copy after the fresco representing the ‘Delphic Sibyl’ on the vault of the Sistine Chapel. The watercolour takes the shape of the space between fictive ribs on the barrel-vaulted ceiling. The sibyl is identified by the plaque on which the name ‘Delphica’ is inscribed. The Sibyl is represented as a young muscular woman with long blond hair, wearing a green and orange dress, a violet mantel and a light blue turban. The woman turns to her left looking away from the scroll she is holding with her left hand on her right side. She is sitting on a marble throne with two plinths on either side, adorned with putti in dynamic poses. Two young naked assistants stand behind the Sibyl on her right. One is holding a book that the other, seen from behind, is reading. The artist signed the watercolour on the bottom right corner of the painted section ‘C. Mariannecci fece. Roma. 1867’.

Delphic Sibyl, putti, young figures.

National Gallery, 1993.

Watercolour made for the Arundel Society in 1867; given in 1897 to the National Gallery, London; transferred to the V&A in 1993.

This watercolour is a copy made by Cesare Mariannecci in 1867 for the Arundel Society after one of the sibyls on the vault of the Sistine Chapel made my Michelangelo in 1511-1512. The main figure, Delphic Sibyl, is identified by the plaque inscribed with her Latin name.


Arundel Society
The Arundel Society was founded in 1848 to promote knowledge of the art through the publication of reproductions of works of art. The Society was named after Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1585-1646), important aristocratic patron and collector of the early Stuart period. The Society was intended to reach the largest possible audience through these reproductions. Subjects were chosen because of their instructive meaning rather than their popularity. In addition to copies of famous paintings, the Society published an English translation of Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the most excellent painters, made in 1850 by Giovanni Aubrey Bezzi (1785-1789), one of the founding members of the Society.

The Arundel Society popularised Renaissance art, particularly that of the Italian Old Masters, echoing a growing interest for ‘primitives’ in the second half of the nineteenth century. The founding members of the Arundel Society were all acknowledge experts on Italian art. For instance, Sir Charles Eastlake (1793–1865; painter and art administrator), whose house was the meeting point of the Society, was Director of the National Gallery in London from 1855 until 1865 and during his tenure, he began one of the finest collections of Italian art in Britain.
Other preeminent members were John Ruskin (1819-1900, English writer, painter and collector), who supervised projects including the watercolours series of the Upper and Lower Church in Assisi, and Sir Austen H. Layard (1817-1894; English archaeologist, politician, diplomat, collector and writer). Layard lived and travelled in Italy for many years and his knowledge of the country’s art was extensive. It was thanks to Layard’s funding that the Society were able to publish copies of the watercolours made at their direction using chromolithography. Although photography was increasingly popular, as photographs could only be made in black and white, chromolithography was chosen as it was felt to be closer to the principals of the Arundel Society: they were coloured and had the aura of traditional prints. In this way, copies were more like the originals.

The Society reached the height of its popularity in the 1860s. However, by the end of the century, it faced mounting criticism with regards to the accuracy of its watercolour copies. The Society ceased its activities in 1897. At this time the availability of second-hand prints had increased and the Society found it difficult to find market for its chromolithographs. Moreover, photographic reproductions were becoming increasingly popular thanks to technical advances. The last display of the Arundel Society’s watercolours took place at the National Gallery and when the Society was dissolved, some watercolours were given to that Institution, while others were acquired by the then South Kensington Museum (now V&A). The outstanding watercolours were transferred from the National Gallery to the V&A in the 1990s.

In 1867, Cesare Mariannecci was commissioned by the Arundel Society to copy some of the frescoes painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel in watercolour so as to convey the effect of the fresco technique.

The watercolour was reproduced as a chromolithograph and was published in the Arundel Society’s issues, which were available to the public by subscription, in 1871. When the Arundel Society was dissolved in 1897, the original watercolours were given to the National Gallery, which eventually transferred them to the V&A in 1993 where they have remained since.

Commissioned by the Arundel Society.

This watercolour is a copy after the fresco representing the ‘Delphic Sibyl’ (one of the Old Testament sibyls who predicted events) in the vault of the Sistine Chapel, which was executed by Michelangelo in 1511-1512.

In 1867, Cesare Mariannecci (c.1819-c.1894) was commissioned by the Arundel Society to copy it. The artist was hired in 1864 by the Society to copy the most important Roman works from the Renaissance. The watercolour was reproduced as a chromolithograph and was published in 1871. When the Arundel Society was dissolved in 1897, the watercolour was given to the National Gallery, which eventually transferred it to the V&A in 1993, where it has remained since.

E.226-1995