PLANT CURATOR
botanical artistry | imagery | creativity
  • Art & Design
  • Photography
  • Culture
  • Places
  • Free Art
  • Books
Home » Art & Design » Lady and the Unicorn: Forget the senses, there’s 1000s of plants

Lady and the Unicorn: Forget the senses, there’s 1000s of plants

October 13, 2014|Art & Design, Textiles

Paris is really something. All those huge sweeping vistas acting as a backdrop for pain au chocolat and cool french people. When in Paris, an art interested first-time tourist typically does the following – Louvre, Musee d’Orsay and Pompidou Centre – before heading, time permitting, to other places of interest; one such possibility being the Musée de Cluny or its current moniker, Musée national du Moyen Âge. For the plant art fiend there’s one darkened room deep inside this building past all the stone artefacts that’s worth a visit. The Lady and the Unicorn or en français, La Dame à la licorne is touted as one of the best artworks of the Middle Ages. Each one of its six tapestries, woven in the early 1500s, show a woman, a unicorn, a lion and in some a monkey, engaged in various activities. Five of the tapestries are thought to represent the senses and it’s quite interesting to try and work out which is which before seeking out the plastic information sheet. The sixth tapestry, a.k.a the possible sixth sense, and what that is, forms the crux of ongoing debate. The plant interest comes in two forms: firstly, the backdrop to the main action is strewn with a variety of flowering plants – pine, orange, sessile oak, holly trees and more. This dense plant design, is called ‘Mille-fleur’ or thousand flowers and was a popular background motif for European art works in the MIddle Ages. Secondly, the colour of the tapestries are from plant based dyes, confirned during a recent clean of the whole thing.  Rachel Donadio for The New York Times writes:

After cleaning the tapestries with a micro-vacuum, restorers worked to bring out the colors — a red background bedecked with flowers, animals and orange and pine trees. Chemical analysis found that plant and natural materials had been used to create the dyes — madder root was used for the reds, the woad plant for the blues, and orcein, a dye extracted from lichen, for the purple hues. To repair some patches, they dyed new wool with vegetable elements they had discovered in the restoration process. Restorers also placed new backings on the tapestries.

It’s the potential for uncovering a hidden knowing in the tapestry that gives it its magic, but without plants for support, it wouldn’t be half as good.

Lady and the Unicorn

The sixth sense. What is it?

Lady and the Unicorn

Hearing

Lady and the Unicorn

Taste

Lady and the Unicorn

Touch

Lady and the Unicorn

Smell

Lady and the Unicorn

Sight

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Share
November 21, 2014 R L F Matthias

Related Posts

  • Stained glass plants
    Stained glass plantsJune 24, 2015
  • Plant in the room: White lily
    Plant in the room: White lilyMay 18, 2015
  • 20 minutes in South Asia with a smart phone
    20 minutes in South Asia with a smart phoneApril 24, 2015

Popular Posts

  • 88 free vintage medicinal plant illlustrations
    88 free vintage medicinal plant illlustrationsApril 21, 2014
  • Species list for La Primavera anyone?
    Species list for La Primavera anyone?March 23, 2014
  • Species list for Millais’ Ophelia anyone?
    Species list for Millais’ Ophelia anyone?April 15, 2014
← The Great Piece of Turf
David Zinn chalks up the natural environment →

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on PinterestFollow Us on EmailFollow Us on rss

Popular Posts

  • 88 free vintage medicinal plant illlustrations
    88 free vintage medicinal plan... April 21, 2014
  • Species list for Millais’ Ophelia anyone?
    Species list for Millais’... April 15, 2014
  • Species list for La Primavera anyone?
    Species list for La Primavera ... March 23, 2014
  • The ultimate Californian deserts in bloom photographic road trip
    The ultimate Californian deser... March 5, 2014
  • Talking vegetable cartoons of Berger & Wyse
    Talking vegetable cartoons of ... April 1, 2014
  • Botticelli’s flowers to Valentino’s dresses via Celia Birtwell
    Botticelli’s flowers to ... January 19, 2015
  • Flower collages of Ted Feighan aka Monster Rally
    Flower collages of Ted Feighan... March 6, 2014
  • The Top 5 Identification Guides for UK Wild Plant Photographers
    The Top 5 Identification Guide... July 14, 2014
  • Old cacti keep the wow factor
    Old cacti keep the wow factor May 2, 2014
  • Movies featuring A-list plants
    Movies featuring A-list plants February 20, 2014
  • The Dave Hill effect
    The Dave Hill effect February 9, 2014
  • Fake flowers tell the truth
    Fake flowers tell the truth February 7, 2014
  • Interview with Coral Guest: Flower Painter
    Interview with Coral Guest: Fl... January 14, 2015
  • Creatives with Plants
    Creatives with Plants December 16, 2014
  • Plant in the Room: Magnolia
    Plant in the Room: Magnolia November 24, 2014

About

Plant Curator selectively collects creations to build a digital athenaeum of plant beauty and application in the arts. Designers that work in nature or plant-related fields will find inspiration for design and content here. In this way we help botanical creatives learn from other botanical creatives.
Read More

Area of interest

Links

  • Submit to Plant Curator
  • Directory

Email

Your message was successfully sent. Thank You!

© 2017 plantcurator.com. All Rights Reserved
%d bloggers like this: