The
female portrait “Lady with Unicorn” depicting a blond blue-eyed young woman in
a 3/4 profile was done by Raphael in 1506. This oil painting on canvas applied
to wood is measured in approximate 65 x 51 centimeters, and now it is in the Galleria
Borghese
in Rome. The lady is in a green and red velvet dress sitting in a loggia
with columns in Tuscan order. The landscape background, which is set apart from
the figure in front, gives the painting more depth of field. A gold pendant with a red stone and a white drop
shaped pearl is hung over her neck, which is really distinct in the middle of the
painting. In addition, she is holding a small greenish unicorn in her lap,
which gives the portrait its name.
The painting
was originally attributed to Perugino and the lady was recognized as St.
Catherine of Alexandria. The reason of it is that the unicorn symbolizes purity in
the medieval romance in place of Catherine’s wheel.[1]
It hasn’t been attributed to Raphael until 1934-1936 when the painting was
restored. However the identity of the lady in painting is ambiguous, it is said
that the woman might be of Giulia Farnese.[2]
It is known that female portrait in
15th century is mostly a way of showing her relation to her family
or her husband’s family. In that way, being shown as an object with the
symbolism objects on her, she is representing the status and the power of the
families she in related to. In here, the young lady doesn’t have an eye contact
with the viewer, instead, she is looking a little bit to the left, which is showing
that she is not sitting there for standing for herself but just an object on
display to show the wealth of her husband’s family. In my view, this painting
is showing the lady is a new married woman that represents the status of her
husband. There are 2 details give me the evidence that the figure is a woman
who just get married. One of which is the iconography the unicorn has. During
Renaissance, unicorn has various meanings. It is a symbol of purity and grace
that can only be caught by a virgin. Under this meaning, the young lady holding
a unicorn in her lap clearly describes her purity as a virgin. Additionally,
unicorn can also be regarded as a symbol of faithful marriage, in which way it
represents the new married situation of this lady. The jewelries she wearing is
another thing to pay attention to. She
wears various kinds of jewelries. The big pendant knot on her chain is placed
in the center of the painting, which really catches viewers’ eyes. The red,
greenish and white color repeat the color of the dress. The combination of the
pure high-quality gemstone and the pearl shows wealth of her husband’s family.
Moreover, in the early Renaissance, only newly married women can wear pearl,
which also underlies her position. Moving close to the painting, you can see a
small part of golden hair accessory appears in the middle of her blond hair.
Raphael used
several characters to describe the position of the woman. Depicted in an
idealism style, the female figure is really young and beautiful. In another
way, he also uses a common way to show her status and the wealth of her
husband’s family through the expensive jewelries and the delicately material of
the dress. However, different from some other female portrait in same function,
Raphael uses the simple elements instead of the fancy dresses and jewelries. By
showing in a simple, modest way, the woman looks more likely a woman with
virtue and chastity.
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