A light-skinned woman in a long, shiny white dress sits at a desk reading a book. The book is propped on a large red pillow. Her head is propped in her hand.

Isabella Wolff

1803/15

Sir Thomas Lawrence (English, 1769-1830)

England

Produced over the course of 12 years, this portrait depicts Isabella Wolff, one of Sir Thomas Lawrence’s most intimate friends, contemplating a printed image of the Delphic Sibyl from Michelangelo’s famous Sistine Chapel ceiling. Wolff’s serpentine pose cleverly echoes another Sibyl from that same work. The Sibyls were priestesses of Classical legend who made enigmatic judgments and prophecies. They were often pictured according to Western fantasies of the Near East, hence Wolff’s elaborate turban here. Lawrence was famed for his ability to evoke the surface effects and textures of clothing; that talent is on full display in Wolff’s shimmering satin gown.

Oil on canvas

Painting and Sculpture of Europe