Erythraean Sibyl

This Erythraean Sibyl is a component of the Ghent Altarpiece, the most ambitious and influential Netherlandish painting of the 15th century. The Erythraean Sibyl was believed to have prophesied the Last Judgment, making her inclusion in the polyptych's eschatological program theologically essential. The prophets and sibyls of the Ghent Altarpiece's exterior panels demonstrate Jan van Eyck's command of the theological iconography of Christian typology — the idea that the Hebrew prophets and pagan sibyls had foretold the coming of Christ, making the Old Testament and classical antiquity precursors to the New. His rendering of aged prophetic figures, their faces communicating the weight of divine revelation, belongs to the northern tradition of devotional art that treated the human face as the primary vehicle for spiritual expression. The precise rendering of aging flesh, the quality of light on their robes, and the psychological depth of their expressions all reflect van Eyck's founding achievements in Flemish oil painting.

The sibyl is rendered with van Eyck's characteristic precision, with rich drapery textures and a naturalistic face that demonstrates his ability to give classical and biblical figures convincing physical presence.