On permanent exhibition at The Cloisters, in New York, seven late Gothic tapestries portray the Hunt of the Unicorn. Like the unicorn himself, they are one of the marvels of the world, for in no other work of art anywhere is the pursuit and capture of this magical creature presented in such astonishing detail, with such command of pictorial verisimilitude and symbolic intention. In a duality not rare in the late Middle Ages, the imagery is both secular and religious. The references to love, matrimonial fidelity, and desire for progeny are understandable in an ensemble that may have celebrated a marriage. But the unicorn, at the same time, is Christ, and the compositions reflect the Incarnation, the Passion, and the Resurrection. Gabriel, the angel of the Annunciation, is one of the hunters: the unicorn loses his fierceness in the lap of the Virgin Mary; a thorny crown encircles his horn and neck when he is slain; and then the glorious creature is miraculously alive again and chained to a pomegranate tree, simultaneously an image of the risen Christ and of the lover-bridegroom secured by his adored lady. What patron conceived the extraordinary plan for these hangings, whose earliest record places them in the Paris grande chambre of Duke François VI de La Rochefoucauld in 1680? What artist or artists elaborated the designs to incorporate the many identifiable birds and animals, flowering plants and trees, whose visual charm and implicit meanings make these woven "murals" endlessly fascinating? What workshop, around 1500, had the craftsmen needed to produce such superb hangings? The author, who was a curator at The Cloisters, answers these questions as completely as they may now be answered. In a pleasantly informative style, she conveys all that is known or can be reasonably believed about the commissioning and the manufacture, all that can safely be conjectured about the original owners. The principal indications of the latter are the tapestries' mysterious AE and FR monograms and the small coat of arms that survives when, seemingly, more conspicuous emblems of royalty or nobility long ago disappeared. As for the unknown designers, they are at least partially identified through the author's study of the poses, facial expressions, costumes, and coiffures in the hangings. Illustrating close parallels in Parisian prints and miniature painting of the time, Miss Freeman persuades one that the designers were French or resident in France. The weaving, on the other hand, she narrows to Brussels on the basis of its technical features and high quality. Comprehensive color photography of the tapestries was done especially for this publication, and 44 of the color images are of details essential to the author's discussion, ranging from dramatic figure compositions to studies of the rarer plants. This story of the Hunt of the Unicorn is certain to interest anyone who has visited the tapestries and been struck by their unique beauty. Equally, it should prompt others—unicorn-lovers generally and devotees of medieval art in particular—to look forward to this experience.

Travel back in time with a medieval look inspired by The Met’s beloved _The Unicorn Tapestries_ and see how you can replicate one of the hunters from the tapestries using makeup.

Among the most popular attractions at The Cloisters, the medieval branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is a set of tapestries depicting the hunt of the fabled unicorn. This is the first book in more than two decades on these extraordinarily beautiful works of art. Each of the seven exquisite tapestries is reproduced in large color-plates and with a wealth of color details. Created in the Netherlands in 1495–1505, they contain supremely memorable images—from the vulnerable unicorn and the individualized faces of the hunters to the naturalistically depicted flora and fauna. For more than a century these intriguing tapestries—like the Lady with the Unicorn series in the Musée de Cluny in Paris—have been examined and discussed at length in popular and scholarly literature. Many interpretations of their origins and subject have been proposed, yet the truth remains a mystery. For whom were they made? What symbolic meaning do they have? What stories do they tell? Here, Adolfo Cavallo, one of the world's leading authorities on medieval tapestries, addresses these issues and draws on ancient and medieval sources to explain the history of the unicorn itself and its significance as both a secular and a Christian symbol. The author also looks at the construction of the tapestries and the historical and cultural context in which they were woven. Two appendixes focus on the plants and animals in the millefleurs backgrounds for which the unicorn tapestries are also famous.

Warps, wefts, heddles, and leashes: Learn how tapestries were made, across time and across cultures, in this mesmerizing short film.

Produced for the 1974 exhibition _Masterpieces of Tapestry_, this short form recounts the tale depicted in “The Unicorn Tapestries” and explains the symbolic meaning of these mythic creatures, including their purifying and restorative powers.

Managing Archivist James Moske recounts the Met's first large-scale tapestry exhibition, French Tapestries, which displayed two hundred premier examples of French weaving.

Do you believe in unicorns? People in the Middle Ages did, and they even thought that unicorn horns had special healing powers.

In European medieval and Renaissance practice, the design was invariably copied from a full-scale colored pattern, known as the cartoon, a practice that continues to this day.