These tapestries are not the original ones woven for Pope Leo X, but are reproductions which (from the absence of any tapestry mark) must have been woven from the original cartoons within a very short space of time. These cartoons, as has been said, were the work of Raphael Santi assisted by his pupils. The original tapestries were executed by Pierre van Aelst in gold, silk, and wool, under the supervision of Bernard van Orley, who had been the pupil of the great Italian painter. They were painted in 1519. Pierre van Aelst had been tapestry maker to Philip le Bel and Charles V., and was probably the foremost weaver of his time in Brussels. More than one reproduction was made, and it is probable that one fell into the hands of the Emperor Charles. They are not mentioned, however, before the inventories made by Philip II. The tenth piece in the original series is not found in this collection on account of its size, and may not have been included in the reproduction. A similar series was in the possession of Henry VIII. of England and was bought at the sale of Charles I.’s effects by Marquis del Carpio. It was inherited by the house of Alba in 1662, and sold in 1823 to the English Consul in Catalonia. George IV. refused to purchase it and it finally reached the Berlin Museum. For a time the cartoons of Raphael were lost. Seven of them, however, were purchased by Charles I. on the advice of Rubens and ordered to be reproduced at Mortlake. The cartoons are now in the South Kensington Museum. The tapestries represent the following subjects: _Tapestry No. 1._ The miraculous draught of fishes. _Tapestry No. 2._ St. Peter chosen by Christ as the head of the Church. _Tapestry No. 3._ The miracle of the paralytic. _Tapestry No. 4._ The death of Ananias. _Tapestry No. 5._ The death of St. Stephen. _Tapestry No. 6._ The conversion of St. Paul. _Tapestry No. 7._ The blindness of Elymas. _Tapestry No. 8._ St. Paul and St. Barnabas at Lystra. _Tapestry No. 9._ St. Paul preaches at the Areopagus in Athens. GROUP 19. _Vertumnus and Pomona_ (6 Tapestries) Despite an occasional lapse in drawing, this series of tapestries is one of the finest examples of pure Renaissance workmanship to be found in the Spanish royal collection. The story, of course, is taken from Ovid, and was a favourite one with the Flemish weavers. The tapestries show the true Renaissance love of the open country and lovely gardens with a wealth of flowers and foliage. They are purely decorative in intention, and the figures are merely accessory. No less than four copies of this series are in the Madrid collection. The series reproduced in this volume was woven at Brussels and purchased by the Emperor Charles V. at Anvers in 1546. It is in silk and wool, heavily enriched with gold, and was the original from which the others were copied.