Sibyls (Raphael)
The Sybils, or Sybils receiving instruction from Angels, is a painting by the Italian renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted in 1514, as part of a commission Raphael had received from the Sienese banker Agostino Chigi to decorate the interior of Santa Maria della Pace in Rome. The painting shows four sibyls - Cumaean, Persian, Phrygian and Tiburtine, accompanied by attendant angels. Art historian Michael Hirst notes there is a "striking" parallel between the figures of the Sybils and the practice sketches of Michelangelo.