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Raphael, The Miraculous Draught of Fishes
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The
Raphael Cartoons were commissioned from the great Italian
Renaissance painter Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520) in 1515 by Pope Leo
X (reigned 1513-21). They were planned as full-scale designs for a
set of ten tapestries that Leo X intended to cover the lower walls
of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The cartoons and tapestries
depict the acts of St. Peter and St. Paul, represented as twin
founders of the early church, and the Papacy.
The
cartoons were sent to Brussels in 1517, where several sets of
tapestries were woven from them. Subsequently, they returned to
Italy, and in 1623 seven of the cartoons were purchased by the
English King Charles I (reigned 1625-49) for use in the recently
established tapestry factory at Mortlake. These have remained in
England ever since.
During
the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Raphael attained
the zenith of his reputation, and was widely regarded as the
greatest painter in history. Consequently, the Raphael Cartoons
became some of the most famous, and widely imitated, paintings in
the world. Since 1865 they have been on loan from the Royal
Collection to the V&A.
