Why it matters
Raphael's cartoons were full-size designs for tapestries commissioned by Pope Leo X for the Sistine Chapel, showing scenes from the Gospels and Acts. The tapestries rivalled Michelangelo's ceiling as the most famous designs of the Renaissance, and the cartoons were called 'the Parthenon sculptures of modern art'.
Did you know?
- They date from 1515–1516.
- The weavers in Brussels cut them into strips to place beside their looms.
- Seven of the ten survive; they belong to the British Royal Collection and have been on loan to the V&A since 1865.
Based on the Wikipedia article Raphael Cartoons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
