Today, Spanish Queen Letizia officially opened the ‘Rafael in Palace – Tapestries for Felipe II’ exhibition at the Royal Palace of Zarzuela in Madrid. The exhibition is organized by the National Heritage as a part of the various tributes that took place throughout 2020 around the world on the occasion of the V Centenary of the death of Rafael Sanzio (1483 – 1520).
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur.
The exhibition is installed in the Gallery of the Royal Palace of Madrid, a space in accordance with the monumentality and architectural structure of the tapestry ‘Los Hechos de Los Apóstoles’ by Rafael, where the complete collection of the apostolic series of Philip II is on display as well the narrative passages that comprise it.
The exhibition elements include ‘the cycle of Saint Peter’, ‘Prince of the apostles and vicar of Christ’, and the one dedicated to Saint Paul, ‘the apostle of the Gentiles’.
The exhibition is made up of nine panels and is a reissue of the Vatican, commissioned by Leo X, also known as “Prince of painters” in 1514 for the Sistine Chapel. The tapestries on display were woven in Brussels around 1550 and later acquired by Philip II and are one of the best-preserved artwork today.
The exhibition will remain open to the public, as part of the visitor entry ticket to the Royal Palace of Madrid, from December 3 to April 2021.
In addition to the exhibition, National Heritage has published a monograph under the title ‘Tapestries of Rafael for the Crown of Spain’, in which the series of tapestries of Rafael are studied in-depth, offering excellent graphic documentation of the tapestries.
The Spanish Royal Collection of tapestries, managed and administered by the National Heritage, is considered unique in the world for the number of pieces it hoards, more than 500 outstanding examples of the excellent Renaissance and Baroque Flemish manufacturing production, and more than 800 cloths from the significant 18th-century Spanish manufacture.
Moving towards Queen Letizia Style, Queen gave us a Déjà vu today. Letizia wore black Carolina Herrera wool coat with jeweled buttons that she wore on exactly the same day in 2019 at the UN Health and Climate Change event.
The double-breasted wool-blend coat featured pearl buttons at the bodice, flared hemline and collared neckline.
Letizia at Climate Change event in 2020.
underneath the coat, it looks like Letizia was wearing her grey coat dress that she wore first time in November 2018 at the 40th anniversary of Spanish Constitution and then in February 2019 during Morocco arrival.
Queen wore her leather Magrit pumps and
carried Felipe Varela pewter leather ‘Sobre-Trapecio’ clutch.
Her white gold and dimaond bezel set studs and
Karen Hallam ring were finishing the look.
Next we will see Queen tomorrow when she will attend a Meeting of the Urgent Spanish Foundation “FundéuRAE”.
