Cartoon for Draught of the Fishes, Raphael, 1515Cecily was helping Scott show Grandma Dorothy through the Victoria and Albert Museum yesterday when Grandma said that she would like to be sure to see the Raphael Cartoons. The museum has seven of these enormous canvasses by one of the world's great artists. They were painted in 1515-16 as preliminary sketches, known as cartoons, for tapestries to be displayed on the walls of the Sistine Chapel alongside the famous ceiling painted by Raphael's great rival, Michaelangelo. They are beautiful works. When Grandma said she wanted to see them, Cecily was oddly enthusiastic about this idea. She happily babbled as we headed toward the room where they are displayed. Only after we were inside the cavernous gallery did she look around with the furious look of a child who has been tricked and loudly announce to the gallery: "Hey, there's no cartoons here!"
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