Raphael: Revolution in Tapestry Design

Curator of the Kunstkammer and Tapestries, Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) in Vienna (Wien), Austria.

The spectacular beauty of Raphael's tapestries as you have never seen it before In 1515, Pope Leo X commissioned the Italian painter Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520), now generally known as Raphael in English, to make the cartoons for a series of ten tapestries with scenes from the lives of Saints Peter and Paul. This commission played an instrumental part in the stylistic development of the Flemish tapestries, a marvellous illustration of princely splendour in the sixteenth century. Under Habsburg rule, Brussels soon emerged as a leading manufactory for exquisite products. Raphael's designs are among the most successful series in the history of tapestry production. This publication shows the enormous richness of the tapestries through dozens of details. It accompanies a collection exhibition of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, home to the former imperial tapestry collection, from 26 September 2023 to 14 January 2024.

9 Foreword 13 Raphael - Innovation in Tapestry Design CATALOGUE 41 1.1-1.5 Scenes from the Acts of the Apostles 42 1.1 The Miraculous Draught of Fishes 48 1.2 The Healing of the Lame Man 54 1.3 The Blinding of Elymas 60 1.4 The Sacrifice at Lystra 66 1.5 St Paul Preaching in Athens 72 2 The Death of Ananias 78 3 The School of Athens 86 4.1-4.2 Scenes from the Life of the Apostle Paul 88 4.1 St Paul Preaching to the Women of Philippi 94 4.2 St Paul Defending Himself before Agrippa 100 5 The Gibeonite Deception 108 6 Moses Has the Silver and Gold Collected 118 7 Romulus and Remus Suckled by a She-Wolf 124 8 Temperance 132 9 Charles V's Conquest of Tunis141 The Seven Deadly Sins CATALOGUE 151 10.1-10.7 The Seven Deadly Sins 152 10.1 Pride (Superbia) 160 10.2 Anger (Ira) 166 10.3 Envy (Invidia) 172 10.4 Avarice (Avaritia) 178 10.5 Sloth (Acedia) 186 10.6 Gluttony (Gula) 194 10.7 Lust (Luxuria) 203 Manuscript on the iconographic scheme for the tapestry series The Seven Deadly Sins (transcription and translation) 213 List of Works 219 Bibliography 226 Photography Credits 227 Acknowledgements & Lenders