The Layers of History Behind Raphael’s Tapestries at the Sistine Chapel

Anthony Majanlahti | Hyperallergic | 25th February 2020

Michelangelo was irked by Raphael. Compared to the former, Raphael was just an upstart. Yet somehow Raphael won a papal commission for a set of tapestries. Those tapestries were recently reunited in the Sistine Chapel, for just one week. “[Their] overall effect is sumptuous, even awe-inspiring, and their level of detail is astonishing. [They reveal] the Sistine Chapel not just as a complete work of art, but as a complete cultural artifact”.