Two Women with the Signs of Libra and Scorpio

This beautiful engraving depicts two women, each holding a book, beneath the zodiac signs of Libra and Scorpio. The graceful proportions and their harmonious postures suggest the artist Raphael as the source for the image. The meaning of the print is unknown. It has been interpreted in numerous ways, as illustrating contrasting zodiacal signs, a pair of sibyls, and even dual representations of death. Raimondi often interpreted sections of larger compositions by Raphael and his circle and developed a logical system of hatching and highlighting that offered a readable articulation of form and motion.