The Tiburtine Sibyl

The Tiburtine Sibyl was made with pencil, black chalk, pastel, and gold paint on paper by Edward Burne-Jones in 1875.

• The blue in the lady's dress is the most saturated area in this drawing and pulls your eye across the page.
• As you compare the size of the lady to the size of the four small figures above her, it is clearly apparent that there is a major difference in scale. Her large size gives her a sense of importance while giving the little figures a sense of subordination.
• This drawing displays a beautiful use of chiaroscuro, creating a wide range of values.
• Although I am not sure of the background behind this drawing, there appears to be a mythical or spiritual sort of conceptual unity denoted by the animal-nature of the woman and saint-nature of the four tiny figures.