In the autumn of 2023, the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna showcases a medium that played a central role in the public celebrations of princely power and magnificence during the Renaissance: monumental tapestries.

The most exquisite products fashioned from delicate silks and precious metal threads were produced in Brussels, including the series of tapestries depicting the story of the Apostles, commissioned by Pope Leo X (1475-1521) for the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The cartoons, which led to a stylistic revolution in Flemish tapestry design, are by the celebrated Italian artist Raffaele Santi (1483-1520). Taking Raphael’s designs as a starting point, the exhibition explores the evolution of the art of tapestries in the sixteenth century, and presents a selection of masterpieces from the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s rich holdings of tapestries.