The unicorn tapestries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
By: Adolfo Salvatore Cavallo.
Contributors: Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)
Publisher: The Museum; H.N. Abrams
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 128
Subjects: Cloisters (Museum); Hunt of the unicorn (Tapestries); Tapestry, Gothic -- France; Art and mythology; Unicorns in art; Christian art and symbolism -- Medieval, 500-1500 -- Themes, motives
Description: 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. Each of the seven exquisite tapestries is reproduced in large colorplates 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.

The author also looks at the construction of the tapestries and the historical and cultural context in which they were woven.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 128).