Raphael Cartoons

The Raphael Cartoons are seven tapestry cartoons made by the High Renaissance painter Raphael. They are part of a set of ten cartoons commissioned by Pope Leo X for tapestries destined for the famous Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The seven cartoons were probably completed in 1516 and must have been sent to Brussels, where the Vatican tapestries were woven by Pieter van Aelst.

In the 17th century the cartoons became the property of the Royal Collection of England at Hampton Court. In 1865 it was decided by Queen Victoria that they should be exhibited on loan at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, were they are still to be seen.

The London Raphael Cartoons represent the following scenes from the lives of Christ and St. Paul:

• Christ's Charge to Peter
• The Miraculous Draught of Fishes
• The Death of Ananias
• The Healing of the Lame Man
• The Blinding of Elymas
• The Sacrifice at Lystra
• St. Paul Preaching at Athens