The Lady and the Unicorn - Exploring The Six Senses

The Lady and The Unicorn was originally named “La Dame à la licorne”, and represents one of the most accomplished and beautiful series of Tapestries in the world. A wonderful example of European, Medieval Tapestries, believed to have been produced for Jean Le Viste in the Southern Netherlands workshops. There is little information about the man believed to have commissioned the Tapestries, although records suggest his family were originally from Lyons, and he was actually the fourth Jean Le Viste of the Le Viste family. More than thirty years before the Tapestries were commissioned, in 1464, Jean Le Viste, a lawyer, became a Counsellor to the court of King Louis XI and Parliament. After the Kings death in 1483, he continued to be a close advisor to his successor, Charles VIII, and rose through the ranks. In 1489 he became a president for one of the ‘Royal Courts of Justice’.

Although Jean Le Viste was from a wealthy family, he was not of Noble blood. Around 1475, at the age of forty three, he was joined in matrimony to Geneviève De Nanterre. Is the noble lady of ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ Tapestries Geneviève? The ‘De Nanterre’s were certainly a family of Nobility. Jean Le Viste died in 1500, around the same time it is believed ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ Tapestries were created. He left three daughters, yet no sons. Surely, a huge blow for someone who was highly concerned with Nobility, and the family Coat of Arms. It is, in fact, his coat of arms featured within the Tapestries. Is this the reason why he chose to commission ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ Tapestries? Was the purpose of these Tapestries to play Heir to Jean Le Viste? He must have foreseen, elaborate and significant Tapestries, such as these, would become Heirlooms of historical significance. If this was his goal, the Tapestries have succeeded in what Le Viste had ultimately aimed for.

Although it is contested, historical documentation indicates a set of similar Tapestries, known as ‘The Hunt of the Unicorn’ were commissioned by Anne of Brittany, around the same time. The Tapestries were created to celebrate her marriage to Charles VIII of France. It seems no simple coincidence that ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ Tapestries were commissioned by Jean Le Viste, with him being such a close consort of Charles VIII. The set of six Tapestries was woven in wool and silk based on set of cartoons produced in Paris. All the Tapestries bare Jean Le Viste’s Coat of Arms. Five of the six Tapestries represent the five senses, and all depict a woman of nobility with a lion and a Unicorn. The sixth Tapestry is known as ‘À mon seul désir’, translated, "to my only desire". As with the symbolic narrative of ‘The Hunt of the Unicorn’, ‘The Lady and the Unicorn’ Tapestries are believed to symbolize a love affair.

As with the first and last of the ‘Unicorn Tapestries’, the ‘Lady and the Unicorn’ Tapestries are true to the ‘Mille Fleurs’ style which was highly popular at the time. ‘À Mon Seul Désir’ Tapestry is the largest of the set and has been the subject of numerous interpretations over the years. In this, the final Tapestry, the lady places the necklace which has been worn by her in all the other Tapestries, into an open chest. Some say this represents her love, or even her virginity. Another, interprets this to be a symbolic rejection of the passions which are touched by the five senses, and therefore, an assertion of her free will. During a lecture by Jean Gerson, at the University of Paris around 1420, the ‘sixth sense’, which is that of understanding was discussed. Gerson’s philosophies have been directly related to the ‘À Mon Seul Désir’ Tapestry, and is the most favored interpretation.

The five other Tapestries are generally accepted to depict the five senses, and each Tapestry is named as such; ‘Le Toucher’- touch; ‘Le Goût’ - taste; ‘L’Odorat’ - smell; ‘La Vue’ - sight and ‘L’Ouïe’ - hearing. The Tapestries had been stored at Boussac Castle, until they were discovered by the famous writer, Prosper Mérimée, in 1841. However, it was the George Sand who brought the Tapestries to the attention of the public, in one of her Novels. Since 1882, the ‘Lady and the Unicorn’ Tapestries have been on display at the Musée du Moyen-Âge in Paris, also known as the Musée de Cluny.

Copyright ©2004-2010 The Tapestry House, all rights reserved | Our policies