Akin to the beguiling energy of the Mona Lisa, the ‘Lady and the Unicorn’ has long captured our imagination and avoided stasis over centuries. The medieval Western series comprises six tapestries representing the five senses; with the final piece an ode to the heart, bearing the text ‘Mon seul désir’. In each symbolic composition a lion and unicorn join the female protagonist. Her persona, as well as the poetry of human experience, is alluded to with symbolic flowers, animals and trees against a rich red ground. In Australia for the first time, and on their third journey outside France since creation circa 1500, the textiles will be on view at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 10 February to 24 June, on loan from Musée de Cluny, Paris.
My sole desire, c.1500, from ‘The lady and the unicorn’ series, wool and silk, 377 x 473cm. Photograph: © RMN-GP / M Urtado. Courtesy Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Sight, c.1500, from ‘The lady and the unicorn’ series, wool and silk, 312 x 330cm. Photograph: © RMN-GP / M Urtado. Courtesy Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
