Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
According to medieval legend, only the purest can tame a unicorn - so paintings like this one are deeply charged with questions of innocence, power and risk.
Alt text: We're looking at reel animating an oil painting in our collection which shows a young woman dressed in a rose-coloured robe holding the head of a white unicorn kneeling at her feet. The woman sits in a green landscape of rolling hills, winding paths, and a distant town beneath a blue sky with scattered clouds.
Credit: A Virgin and a Unicorn, Representing Chastity. Various attributions have been suggested, including circle of Dosso Dossi (Ferrara) and follower of Timoteo Viti of Urbino (1469-1523): in its present state much of the surface (e.g. the green grass) dates from 20th century.
Reference: Wellcome Collection 44558i
#arthistory #folklore #medieval #unicorns #mythicalcreatures #painting #history
According to medieval legend, only the purest can tame a unicorn - so paintings like this one are deeply charged with questions of innocence, power and risk.
Alt text: We're looking at reel animating an oil painting in our collection which shows a young woman dressed in a rose-coloured robe holding the head of a white unicorn kneeling at her feet. The woman sits in a green landscape of rolling hills, winding paths, and a distant town beneath a blue sky with scattered clouds.
Credit: A Virgin and a Unicorn, Representing Chastity. Various attributions have been suggested, including circle of Dosso Dossi (Ferrara) and follower of Timoteo Viti of Urbino (1469-1523): in its present state much of the surface (e.g. the green grass) dates from 20th century.
Reference: Wellcome Collection 44558i
#arthistory #folklore #medieval #unicorns #mythicalcreatures #painting #history
