Pair Of Large Halluin Tapestries The Lady With The Unicorn: Touch - Sight 105 X 130 Cm

Pair of large Halluin point tapestries from the Lady and the Unicorn series: Sight and Touch Very fine quality of execution Large size h: 105 cm width: 130 cm Very fresh colors Lined with gray fabrics clear Label of authenticity on the back Woven in France Epoque 20th Mounted at the top by solid metal legs for easy hanging Very good general condition: no wear For info: The tapestry "the touch" comes from the series of the Lady with the unicorn. On this hanging, the sense of touch is highlighted. Framed by the lion and the unicorn, the Lady holds the horn in one hand and the shaft in the other. It is this contrast between delicacy and firmness that gives the piece its full meaning. Despite everything, the Lady shows a certain modesty by turning away from the animal. The most amazing thing about this tapestry is the lack of symmetry, even if it is restored by the presence of the Lady in the very center. It is the latter which makes the link between the different planes: the unicorn on the first and the shaft on the third. The artist does not create perspective. The shafts are simply aligned and create a parallel with the shaft. The light is caught by the Lady's velvet dress which reveals the ermine lining on the side. The tapestry "the view" represents the seated Lady presenting a mirror to the Unicorn. The unicorn, this mythical animal symbol of purity, was so wild and so fast that no one could take it. Only a candid, virgin girl could approach him. The so-called Lady and the Unicorn hanging is a composition of six tapestries from the beginning of the 16th century. A masterpiece of the early Renaissance, it is kept in Paris at the Musée de Cluny. These are millefleur tapestries which take up the same elements on each piece: on an island dotted with animals and flowers in foliage planted with tufts of plants where the color blue contrasts with the red or pink background, a young woman poses, dressed of velvet and rich brocades, sometimes accompanied by a servant and other animals, surrounded by heraldic emblems, a lion on her right, and a unicorn on her left. The reproduction of the drapes, their shimmering and their transparencies, is of great finesse. Besides the couple lion - unicorn traditional symbols of courage and purity, the millefleurs is enriched with a bestiary which gives rise to interpretations. We see the lamb, a dog, a rabbit and in Touch a panther. Each species is found in several tapestries. The birds are varied. We recognize in particular a parrot to which the Lady of Taste gives what could be dragees and a magpie above the Lady of Smell, but also the hawk, the falcon, the heron... Each scene is framed of four trees, except the View, which only shows two. We recognize the foliage or the fruits of the orange tree, the pine, the oak, and the holly. Inspired by a German legend, the tapestries were woven in Flanders between 1484 and 1538. The style would be that of an illuminator and engraver who worked for Anne de Bretagne. Five of these representations form an allegory of the five senses symbolized by the occupation to which the Lady devotes herself: Touch: the lady holds the horn of the unicorn in her hand as well as the pole of a standard Taste: the lady takes what could be a dragee from a cup that her servant hands her, and offers it to a bird The sense of smell: while the lady is making a wreath of flowers, a monkey inhales the scent of a flower, which he smells is seized Hearing: the lady plays a small organ Sight: the unicorn contemplates itself in a mirror held by the lady