The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone – Giorgione: Woman with a unicorn

“The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.”

(Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn)

Giorgione, Woman with a unicorn, 1510

Medieval art is filled with images of unicorns; in miniature paintings, tapestries, church altars. Whatever the art medium, there always seemed to be room for unicorns and so it should be. These days the motif of a unicorn is found mostly on things made for children; toys, notebooks, bags, even makeup items sometimes, but sadly the motif has lost its awe-inspiring and almost sacred meaning that it had for many centuries in Medieval and even Renaissance art. One of my favourite paintings with a unicorn is the painting above, “Woman with a Unicorn”, painted in the early sixteenth century. The name of Giorgione is usually tied to the painting, but it is not really certain whether or not he has painted it. It is his style, but it is very likely it was the work of one of his followers or a copy of a lost painting by Giorgione. Nonetheless, it is precisely this Giorgionesque quality that I love about it; the serene aura around the woman, and lyrical beauty of the landscape, the softness and the quietness. Apart from its lyrical beauty, the painting is important because it shows the existence of an important artistic prototype; a woman in a landscape with a unicorn representing chastity. Unicorn was seen as a pure animal, rarely seen, and thus it was believed that only a virgin could see a unicorn. The woman with the unicorn is usually St Justina of Padua; a beautiful young virgin who remained devoted to her religion even when facing death and was then killed by the Roman emperor Maximian. Still, there is none of the horrors or violence in this lovely painting. On the contrary, the mood is as pure as the unicorn itself. There is a sweet bond between the unicorn and the woman; his head is her lap and she is lovingly petting his head. The landscape around them is hazy and dreamy and the colours are all harmonius and serene. Less is more is the rule in this painting, but it is not the same case with the unicorn-themed tapestries which are so filled with details. Tapestry bellow, “The Unicorn in Captivity”, for example, has a background so filled with many different kinds of flowers and plants that it is hard to decided what feeling prevailes; a headache or an admiration for the patience it took to create this. It is hard to believe that such a simple fence could stop a magical creature from escaping, but I guess Medieval artists hadn’t thought out all the unicorn details.

The Unicorn in Captivity (from the Unicorn Tapestries), 1495–1505. Unknown Netherlandish. Wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts.

Peter S. Beagle’s novel “The Last Unicorn”, published in 1968, tells a tale about a unicorn who believes she is the last of her kind and who goes on a quest to find out what happened to the other unicorns. Here is a how Beagle describes a unicorn:

“She did not look anything like a horned horse, as unicorns are often pictured, being smaller and cloven-hoofed, and possessing that oldest, wildest grace that horses have never had, that deer have only in a shy, thin imitation and goats in dancing mockery. Her neck was long and slender, making her head seem smaller than it was, and the mane that fell almost to the middle of her back was as soft as dandelion fluff and as fine as cirrus. She had pointed ears and thin legs, with feathers of white hair at the ankles; and the long horn above her eyes shone and shivered with its own seashell light even in the deepest midnight. She had killed dragons with it, and healed a king whose poisoned wound would not close, and knocked down ripe chestnuts for bear cubs.

Unicorns are immortal. It is their nature to live alone in one place: usually a forest where there is a pool clear enough for them to see themselves – for they are a little vain, knowing themselves to be the most beautiful creatures in all the world, and magic besides. They mate very rarely, and no place is more enchanted than one where a unicorn has been born. The last time she had seen another unicorn the young virgins who still came seeking her now and then had called to her in a different tongue; but then, she had no idea of months and years and centuries, or even of seasons. It was always spring in her forest, because she lived there, and she wandered all day among the great beech trees, keeping watch over the animals that lived in the ground and under bushes, in nests and caves, earths and treetops. Generation after generation, wolves and rabbits alike, they hunted and loved and had children and died, and as the unicorn did none of these things, she never grew tired of watching them.”

Martin Schongauer, Altarpiece of the Dominicans (aka The Mystic Hunt), c 1480. Oil on pine. Detail.

The Lady and the Unicorn – Sight, 1484-1500