Tapestry Cartoon Fragment: The Top of Woman's Head with Hair Braided over a Cloth Headdress

The Tapestry Cartoon Fragment: The Top of Woman's Head with Hair Braided over a Cloth Headdress was created by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) between 1500 and 1550. This fragment is a specialized preparatory drawing, utilizing a medium of brush, yellow, orange, brown, gray and white gouache applied over initial traces of black chalk. In the High Renaissance, monumental tapestry cycles required full-scale templates, or cartoons, from which weavers worked; this piece represents a surviving remnant of such a template, likely related to a major commission by the influential artist.

The work focuses intensely on the structure and texture of the woman's ornamentation, demonstrating Raphael's meticulous approach to detail even in preliminary stages. The subject's hair is carefully braided and skillfully arranged around and over a fitted cloth headdress. The effective use of opaque gouache colors allows the artist to achieve strong contrasts and depth, realistically modeling the curves, folds, and subtle shadows inherent in the fabric and the tightly woven braids. This detailed focus on women’s hairstyles and head coverings not only showcases the decorative arts of the period but also serves as an important document of early sixteenth-century Italian fashion.

As a drawing, this piece provides valuable insight into Raphael’s technical process, illustrating how he translated soft contours and textile complexities into a blueprint suitable for reproduction in the more rigid medium of tapestry. The work is classified within the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Today, high-quality prints of this Renaissance study circulate widely, benefiting from its status as public domain material, ensuring the preparatory genius of Raphael remains broadly accessible.