Michelangelo’s “Q”. A Contribution to the Interpretation of the Sistine Chapel’s Sibyls

The author provides a new iconographic explanation of the Sibylla Erithraea on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The interpretation is based on the letter Q that is depicted in the book she is holding, which has attracted surprisingly little scholarly attention to date. It is argued here that the letter Q was related to a text by Lactantius, who was well known among humanists and theologians. The letter Q, furthermore, emphasizes the Sibylla Erithraea’s special status among the other Sibyls. Her relation to the Last Judgement is confirmed by the images around her.