The Conversion of the Proconsul (Acts 13: 6-12)

The Raphael Cartoons are designs for tapestries and were commissioned from Raphael by Pope Leo X (reg. 1513-21) shortly after his election in 1513. The tapestries were intended to hang in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, built by one of Leo's predecessors Pope Sixtus IV (reg. 1471-84). The Chapel was primarily intended for the use of the Pope and the body of clergy and Laity immediately surrounding him. The decoration of the chapel under Sixtus addressed the lives of Moses and Christ. The tapestries continued this theme, illustrating scenes from the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul who were seen as the founders of the Christian Church, and reinforcing the legitimity of the Pope's authority and power. The resulting tapestries had in addition woven borders showing scenes from Leo's life and from the lives of Saint Paul, also designed by Raphael: the cartoons for these have not survived.

In this Cartoon, Paul strikes the Jewish sorcerer Elymas with temporary blindness for he has tried to prevent him and Barnabas from converting the proconsul Sergius Paulus to the Christian faith. Witnessing this, the proconsul embraces Christianity. The story illustrates Paul's mission to convert the Gentiles, while Peter's is to convert the Jews.