1870, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Sibylle -- National Gallery of Art (Washington) (special exhibition)
From the museum label: This handsome work ranks as one of Corot's most accomplished efforts at approximating Raphael's High Renaissance style. Its pose closely follows the portrait of Bindo Altoviti (National Gallery of Art, Washington), believed, in Corot's day, to be Raphael's self-portrait, but Corot arrived at this composition incrementally. X-radiographs reveal an earlier state in which the model plays the cello: the left hand held the neck of the instrument and the right hand, slightly raised, held the bow. Corot made several adjustments to these accessories before painting them out altogether, dropping the model's right hand to her lap and inserting a rose or pink in her left hand.
1870, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Sibylle -- National Gallery of Art (Washington) (special exhibition)
From the museum label: This handsome work ranks as one of Corot's most accomplished efforts at approximating Raphael's High Renaissance style. Its pose closely follows the portrait of Bindo Altoviti (National Gallery of Art, Washington), believed, in Corot's day, to be Raphael's self-portrait, but Corot arrived at this composition incrementally. X-radiographs reveal an earlier state in which the model plays the cello: the left hand held the neck of the instrument and the right hand, slightly raised, held the bow. Corot made several adjustments to these accessories before painting them out altogether, dropping the model's right hand to her lap and inserting a rose or pink in her left hand.