Raphael Tapestries

I'm sure everyone in the UK is waiting with bated breath for Pope Benedict XVI's controversial state visit to Britain. Ah, the vast cost to the taxpayer of this papal jamboree, the need for police protection, the continuing child-abuse scandals, the "No Popery Here" T-shirts, the ignorance of global warming and the loopy justifications for overpopulating the planet. It promises to be more entertaining than the Olympic Games. What you might have missed in the furore is that to coincide with this visit the Vatican Museums have lent London's V&A four of Raphael's tapestries from the Sistine Chapel: The Miraculous Drought of Fishes (shown above), Christ's Charge of Peter, The Healing of the Lame Man and The Sacrifice at Lystra. These have never been seen in the UK before. They will hang alongside the V&A's own Raphael cartoons for the series. Raphael: Cartoons and Tapestries for the Sistine Chapel will run from 8 September to 17 October. Admission will be free, but you must book tickets in advance (title link).