São Paulo pregando em Atenas

In 1515 Pope Leo the Tenth handed Raphael one of the most prestigious jobs in Rome: designs for a set of tapestries to hang in the Sistine Chapel, on the wall below Michelangelo's ceiling. This is one of them, though not the tapestry itself. It is the full-size painted design, or cartoon, that was shipped north to weavers in Brussels to copy. The scene comes from the Acts of the Apostles, with Paul standing arms raised, preaching to the citizens of Athens about a god they did not yet know. Cartoons like this were working tools and usually got worn out or thrown away. Seven of Raphael's ten survived, and they have hung in this London museum, on loan from the Royal Collection, since 1865.