painting
Raphael, St Paul Preaching at Athens (cartoon, 1515)
This image reproduces one of the celebrated Raphael Cartoons — *St Paul Preaching at Athens* — a full-scale design made about 1515-1516 by Raphael (1483-1520) and his workshop. It is not a painting on canvas in the ordinary sense but a *cartoon*: a large working drawing in bodycolour on paper, made as the pattern from which tapestries were woven. (Scholarship)
The subject: Paul at the Areopagus
The scene depicts an episode from the Acts of the Apostles: the Apostle Paul, during his second missionary journey, addressing the philosophers and citizens of Athens on the Areopagus (Acts 17). Raphael shows him standing, arms raised, mid-address, the Athenians gathered around him. The speech Acts places on his lips begins: "Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious. For passing by, and seeing your idols, I found an altar also, on which was written: To the unknown God" (Acts 17:22-23, Douay-Rheims). (Scripture) It is one of the great set-piece sermons of the New Testament, and Raphael's composition became its defining visual image.
History of the cartoon
The cartoons were commissioned by Pope Leo X as designs for a set of tapestries intended for the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel, depicting scenes from the lives of Saints Peter and Paul. Seven of the original cartoons survive; they belong to the Royal Collection and have long been displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. (Scholarship) The work is in the public domain by age. Through later engravings and copies, Raphael's design spread across Europe and shaped how the Areopagus sermon was imagined for centuries.
Relevance to Paul
The cartoon captures Paul the missionary at his most characteristic — a Jew of the diaspora and Roman citizen from Tarsus, reasoning with a gentile, Greek-speaking audience on their own ground. It belongs to the same mission whose memory St Paul Global Week marks. On 28-30 June 2027, around the 29 June Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, a faith-tourism gathering organised by Funny Tourism will bring pilgrims to Tarsus and Mersin. See the programme and read why Tarsus.
Provenance
A full-scale preparatory cartoon in bodycolour on paper (mounted on canvas), by Raphael and his workshop, made as a design for tapestries. It is part of the Royal Collection and displayed on long loan at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The work is public domain by age; the reproduction is hosted on Wikimedia Commons. Because Raphael's compositions were later engraved and copied, this cartoon circulated far beyond the tapestries themselves.
Credit and source
- Source:
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Royal Collection loan) (via Wikimedia Commons)
- Licence:
- Public Domain (age)
- Original:
- View the source
Frequently asked questions
What does Raphael's St Paul Preaching at Athens show?
It shows the Apostle Paul preaching to the philosophers and citizens of Athens on the Areopagus, the episode narrated in Acts 17. Paul stands with arms raised, mid-sermon, surrounded by his Athenian audience.
Is this a painting or a cartoon?
It is a full-scale cartoon, a large working design in bodycolour on paper made as the pattern for tapestries. It is one of the seven surviving Raphael Cartoons, commissioned by Pope Leo X for tapestries in the Sistine Chapel.
Where is it held and is it public domain?
The cartoon is part of the Royal Collection and is displayed on long loan at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It is in the public domain by age, and the reproduction is hosted on Wikimedia Commons.
St Paul Global Week · 28–30 June 2027
Experience it in person
Gather in the birthplace of the Apostle Paul. An international gathering in Tarsus and Mersin, held around the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, with the Feast Day prayer programme broadcast live worldwide.
Travel and pilgrimage are arranged by Funny Tourism.