St. Paul preaching at Athens (Copy of Raphael's tapestry, reversed)

Art Historical Context

This delicate 16th-century drawing captures Raphael’s celebrated design for the tapestry *St. Paul Preaching at Athens*, one of the celebrated Acts of the Apostles series commissioned by Pope Leo X for the Sistine Chapel. Created around 1515–1519, the original cartoons translated the dramatic biblical moment when the apostle addresses the philosophers of Athens on the Areopagus. The present sheet, executed in pen and brown ink with India-ink wash, records the composition in reverse, a common practice when weavers or collectors needed a working guide or souvenir of the celebrated designs. Although listed under Raphael’s name, the work is understood to be a contemporary copy after the master’s cartoon. Its fluid line work and subtle tonal washes nevertheless convey the balanced, classically inspired figures and architectural setting that made Raphael’s tapestry cartoons landmarks of High Renaissance art. The small scale—roughly ten by fourteen inches—allowed the drawing to circulate among artists and patrons, spreading the influence of Raphael’s grand narrative style far beyond Rome. Today in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection thanks to Cornelius Vanderbilt’s 1880 gift, the sheet offers visitors an intimate glimpse into the collaborative world of Renaissance design, where drawings served as essential bridges between painter, weaver, and viewer.