Unicorn: The Mythical Beast in Art
The unicorn has stimulated the imagination like no other animal. It has been documented in many cultures for centuries. Its fascination continues to this day. The mythical animal is a multi-facetted symbol that emanates associative energy. Tracks of the unicorn can be found in Christian and non-European art, in natural science and medicine and in a wide range of symbols. Studying the iconography of the unicorn invites reflection on fantasy, world knowledge, ambivalences and projections.
Maerten de Vos: Unicorn, 1572, Staatliches Museum Schwerin
The exhibition brings together nearly 150 works spanning a period of approximately 4,000 years, including paintings, drawings, prints, illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, and tapestries. Many of these works are rarely loaned. Among the 88 lenders from 16 countries are the Albertina in Vienna; the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford; the Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence; the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg; the Green Vault of the Dresden State Art Collections; the Historisches Museum Basel; the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague; the Musée du Louvre, Paris; the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Musées royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels; the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid; the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; the Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Alessandro Varotari Padovanino: Orpheus und die Tiere, 1. Hälfte 17. Jahrhundert
Marie Cécile Thijs
Marie Cécile Thijs: White Unicorn, ca. 2015
The range of exhibits covers a period from the second millennium BC to the present day and includes paintings and prints as well as sculptures, manuscripts, tapestries and art chamber objects. On display are works by artists such as Arnold Böcklin, Albrecht Dürer, Angela Hampel, Gustave Moreau, Joachim Sandrart and Marie Cecile Thijs.
Image: Jürgen Karpinski
The exhibition is organized by the Museum Barberini with the Musée de Cluny - Musée national du Moyen Âge, and the GrandPalaisRmn, Paris.
The exhibition will be on display at the Musée de Cluny from March 13 to July 12, 2026.