The Lady and the Unicorn

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The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries as they now hang at Musée de Cluny in Paris

The Lady and the Unicorn (French: La dame à la licorne) is the title of a cycle of French tapestries often considered one of the greatest works of art of the Middle Ages in Europe. They are estimated to have been woven in the late 15th century (c. 1490), in Flanders.

The tapestries are commonly interpreted as depicting the six senses - taste, hearing, sight, smell, touch, and "A mon seul désir" (meaning: "to my only desire"), often interpreted as love or understanding. Each of the six tapestries depicts a noble lady with the unicorn and some include a monkey or a lion in the scene. The pennants, as well as the armor of the Unicorn and Lion in the tapestry bear the arms of the sponsor, Jean Le Viste, a powerful nobleman in the court of King Charles VII.

The tapestries are done in the style of mille-fleurs (meaning: "thousand flowers").

The tapestries were rediscovered in 1841 by Prosper Mérimée in Boussac castle (at the time, the subprefect of the Creuse) where they had been suffering damage from their storage conditions. Novelist George Sand brought public attention to the tapestries in her works at the time. The cycle is currently held in the Musée Cluny (Musée du Moyen-Age), Paris (France), where it has resided since 1882.

These tapestries are also the central theme of the novels "The Lady and the Unicorn" by Tracy Chevalier, and "The Seventh Unicorn" by Kelly Jones.

[edit] The tapestries

Taste

The lady is taking a candy from a dish held by a maidservant. Her eyes are on a parrot on her upheld left hand. The lion and the unicorn are both on their back feet reaching up to pennants that frame the lady on either side. The monkey is at her feet, eating one of the candies.

Hearing

The lady plays a positive organ on top of a table covered with a Turkish rug. Her maidservant stands to the opposite side, and holds the organ in place. The lion and unicorn once again frame the scene holding up the pennants, but in this scene, their positions are reversed so that they are inside the frame, and each is on the opposite the side of the lady that they are on in all the other tapestries.

Sight

The lady is seated, holding a mirror up in her right hand. The unicorn kneels on the ground, with his front legs in the lady's lap, from which he gazes at his reflection in the mirror. The lion on the left holds up a pennant.

Smell

The lady stands, making a wreath of flowers. Her maidservant holds a basket of flowers within her easy reach. Again, the lion and unicorn frame the lady while holding on to the pennants. The monkey has stolen a flower which he is smelling, providing the key to the allegory.

Touch

The lady stands with one hand touching the unicorn's horn, and the other holding up the pennant. The lion sits to the side and looks on.

A Mon Seul Désir

This tapestry is wider than the others, and has a somewhat different style. The lady stands in front of a tent, across the top which reads "A Mon Seul Désir" (To my only desire). Her maidservant stands to the right, holding open a chest. The lady is placing the necklace she wears in the other tapestries into the chest. To her left is a low bench with bags of coins on it. The unicorn and the lion stand in their normal spots framing the lady while holding onto the pennants.

This tapestry has elicitied a number of interpretations. One interpretation sees the lady putting the necklace into the chest as a renunciation of the passions aroused by the other senses, and as an assertion of her free will. Another sees the tapestry as representing a sixth sense of understanding (derived from the sermons of Jean Gerson of the University of Paris c. 1420). Other various interpretations see the tapestry as representing love or virginity.