Raphael Tapestry: The Blinding of Elymas

Estimated Cost: $800,000

Source of Funding: Stange Trust and its Trustee, David Stone, and the Michigan Patrons (matching funds).

Restoration Project: The great Italian Renaissance artist, Raphael (1483-1520), was commissioned by Pope Leo X in 1515 to create a series of designs for tapestries that would hang on the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel. Titled the “Acts of the Apostles,” there were ten works in all: four depicting events in the life of St. Peter and six of events in the life of St. Paul. Raphael created the works of art, called cartoons, and sent them to Brussels to be woven into tapestries.
The weavers, under Raphael’s tutorage, created the tapestries as mirror images of the cartoons.

Tapestry weaving was and is slow and labor-intensive. Each one of Raphael’s works measured over 10X13 feet; the tapestries are very heavy and laden with threads of gold and silver. Because of the size of the work and the complexity and delicate nature of the restoration, the project was expected to take seven years to complete.

The history and mystery of the cartoons and tapestries is intriguing, however the telling is beyond the scope of this project’s description. Enough to say that the cartoons now belong to the Queen of England and are kept in her Royal Collection on display in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Some of the tapestries have been destroyed (at least one was burned to recover the gold and silver!), and four, including, The Blinding of Elymas (also called The Conversion of Proconsul) is in the possession of the Vatican Museums. Amazingly this extraordinary piece of art still exists, but not so amazing is the fact that some 500 years later, it was damaged and worn and in need of restoration.

Once restored it may be hung in the Arizzi (Tapestry) Gallery of the Museums or together with other priceless works of Raphael.

This particular tapestry, The Blinding of Elymas, depicts St. Paul’s first miracle after his conversion.

… 6 When they had traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a magician named Bar-Jesus who was a Jewish false prophet.^* 7 He was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who had summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is what his name means) opposed them in an attempt to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, also known as Paul^,filled with the holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right, full of every sort of deceit and fraud. Will you not stop twisting the straight paths of [the] Lord? 11 Even now the hand of the Lord is upon you. You will be blind, and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately a dark mist fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he came to believe, for he was astonished by the teaching about the Lord. (Acts 13:6-12)

Here we find the Roman Proconsul Sergius Paulus who wants to hear about Jesus. The Proconsul is the one seated on the marble bench, in a toga, with a laurel wreath on his head. Elymas, the soccerer or magician, is in the forefront, groping, with both arms outstretched. Elymas is an adviser to the Proconsul and had previously ordered Paul to be whipped for his Christian faith. St. Paul is facing Elymas in the forefront, has the halo about his head, and is pointing at Elymas as he performs his first miracle among the Gentiles. In the scene, Elymas is being struck blind by words spoken to him by Saint Paul. The event led to the Proconsul’s conversion to Christianity.

Updates from the Restoration Laboratory

The restoration of the Raphael Tapestry The Blinding of Elymas is expected to take seven years to complete. Each year the restoration laboratory provides MI-PAVM a progress report. See the list and links below. The extraordinary work of the restorers is evident in the numerous before and after photographs contained in these reports.

Noteworthy: During the week of February 17-22, 2020, the entire series of Raphael’s Acts of the Apostles was exhibited in the Sistine Chapel to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the death of the Urbinate artist. The tapestry depicting the Blinding of Elymas as part of the prestigious series was exhibited together with the other tapestries. Please see the report for 2020 which includes pictures of this once-in-a-lifetime exhibit of the works of Raphael. Sadly, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the exhibit was underappreciated.

2016 Blinding of Elymas, Initial Evaluation
2017 Blinding of Elymas
2018 Blinding of Elymas
2019 Blinding of Elymas
2020 Blinding of Elymas, with pictures from Sistine Chapel Exhibit
2021 Raphael Tapestry Interim Final Report, including Restoration Laboratory photos
2021 Blinding of Elymas: Final Report from the Restoration Laboratory

A Message from the MI-PAVM Director

July 2, 2021

Dear Michigan Patrons,

During my visit to Rome in June, I had the opportunity to see our Michigan restoration project, the 16^th century tapestry based on Raphael cartoon, or sketches, the Blinding of Elymas, in its permanent place in the Pinocoteca of the Vatican Museums. I am attaching the final restoration report from Romina in the Vatican Patrons office and include a few pictures of the piece as it is displayed. Pictures do not do it justice! This is a major accomplishment of our Chapter and something about which we can be proud of as we visit the Museums.

We especially want to thank all the Michigan Patrons who financially contributed to this exciting project, including our major donors, the Stange Trust and its Trustee, Dave Stone, Dr. Lourdes Andaya, Sabrina & Anthony Rugiero, Carolyn & Gerard Andree, Sharon Shumaker, Dorrie & Stan Wencley, Patty & Dale Chiara, Corporate Travel Service and the Cunnington Family Foundation.

Many of us will celebrate this accomplishment together on our pilgrimage to Rome this fall where we will all see it displayed!

Many thanks to our amazing Michigan Vatican Patron Membership.

John Hale