Sibylla Delphica

Edward Burne-Jones's 'Sibylla Delphica' (1886) depicts the Delphic Sibyl — the prophetic priestess of Apollo at Delphi who was among the most significant of the ancient world's prophetic figures. Burne-Jones's engagement with Sibyl subjects connected to his broader interest in classical and mythological figures as vehicles for expressing states of consciousness beyond ordinary experience — the prophetic, the visionary, and the spiritually transcendent that were central to Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolist painting. The Delphic Sibyl's specific association with the most famous oracle in the ancient world gave the subject particular cultural weight.

Burne-Jones renders the Sibyl with his characteristic combination of classical accuracy in the figure's archaic dress and the specific Pre-Raphaelite aesthetics of his mature style — the face with its otherworldly quality of visionary consciousness, the drapery arranged with medieval tapestry care, and the jewel-like palette that distinguished his work from more conventional academic treatments of classical subjects. His technique creates surfaces of extraordinary delicacy and chromatic richness.