Raphael: Cartoons and Tapestries for the Sistine Chapel

The Italian Renaissance master Raphael designed a sublime set of 10 tapestries for the Sistine Chapel in 1515. These remarkable works are comparable with Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling as masterpieces of High Renaissance art. The full-size designs Raphael made for the tapestries--known as the Raphael Cartoons--have been on display in the V&A since 1865. This book accompanies an exhibition of the four remaining actual tapestries and the Cartoons. It introduces and contextualizes them, looks at how and why they were made, and discusses each subject individually in terms of sources and composition. Accessible and beautiful, it is essential reading for all Raphael and Renaissance enthusiasts.