The Lady and the Unicorn is a legendary series comprising six monumental tapestries, created around 1500 during the late Middle Ages.
The first five tapestries symbolize the five human senses:
- Touch: The lady holds a banner and gently strokes the unicorn's horn.
- Taste: The lady takes a sweet from a tray.
- Smell: The lady weaves a garland while a monkey secretly sniffs the flowers.
- Hearing: The lady plays a hurdy-gurdy, its melody drifting through the air.
- Sight: The unicorn gazes at the mirror held by the lady.
The most renowned sixth tapestry—À Mon Seul Désir (To My Sole Desire)—transcends physical senses, symbolizing the sixth sense, the free will of the spirit, or the renunciation of material desires.
These “Thousand Flowers” tapestries feature abundant flora—flowers, orange trees, pines, holly, and oaks—inhabited by a peaceful menagerie of animals (monkeys, dogs, rabbits, and herons). Within this contemplative, idyllic natural setting, the unicorn sometimes participates as a subject and at other times remains an ordinary observer. It is paired with a lion, and the Leviste family crest is printed in each scene.
