Vatican Museums

The series of tapestries known as the New School or the Life of Christ originally consisted of twelve tapestries (eight of which are on display), depicting episodes from the Life of Christ, based on drawings by Raphael’s pupils. The tapestries were woven in Brussels between 1524 and 1531 in the workshop of the renowned tapestry maker Pieter Van Aelst (c. 1450-1532-33), an expert weaver, who became the “tapestry maker to the Pope” after creating Raphael's famous tapestries for the Sistine Chapel a few years earlier.
The collection can be divided into two thematic groups. The first, dedicated to the childhood of Christ, consists of six tapestries depicting the Adoration of the Shepherds (cat. 43858), The Adoration of the Magi (cat. 43860), The Presentation in the Temple (cat. 43857) and The Massacre of the Innocents (made in three separate tapestries, cat. 43863, cat. 43864, cat. 43865). The second group instead illustrates the episodes following the Crucifixion: The Resurrection (cat. 43861), Christ’s Descent into Limbo (now lost), Noli me tangere (cat. 43855), Cena in Emmaus (cat. 43856), The Ascension (cat. 43859) and Pentecost (cat. 43862). The two groups of tapestries were displayed on the occasion of the consistories in particular moments of the liturgical year: the tapestries on the Childhood of Christ were exhibited during the Christmas consistories, whereas those dedicated to the events following the Crucifixion were reserved for the Easter period.