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Explore the mystery behind the iconic medieval tapestries from Musée de Cluny, representing the senses with an enigmatic sixth. Discover the history, symbolism, and artistic process behind these exquisite artworks.
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Recognised as one the greatest medieval works of art Normally housed in the Musée de Cluny in Paris. Its origins are shrouded in mystery.
The set comprises six tapestries created before 1 500 They represent the five senses and the sixth is an enigma.
The enigma has the inscription «Mon seuldésir » « My sole desire » Which has inspired a number of meanings.
The 5 senses…… • Touch .. • Taste …… • Smell …. • Hearing … • Sight …… The lady holds the unicorn’s horn in her hand The lady offers a sweetmeat to a bird A monkey smells the scent of a flower wreath woven by the lady The lady plays the organ The unicorn looks at itself in a mirror held by the lady.
Which sense is shown here? Touch Taste Smell Hearing Sight Yes, it’s touch! The lady holds both the unicorn’s horn and the standard.
Which sense is shown here? Touch Taste Smell Hearing Sight It’s hearing. The lady plays the organ.
Which sense is shown here? Touch Taste Smell Hearing Sight It’s taste. The lady is offering the sweetmeat to the bird.
It’s smell - The monkey smells the scent of the flower wreath being made by the lady and the lady smells a carnation Which sense is shown here? Touch Taste Smell Hearing Sight
C’estquelsens? Le toucher Le goût L'odorat L'ouïe La vue Which sense is shown here? Touch Taste Smell Hearing Sight It’ssight. The unicorn is looking at itself in the mirror held by the lady.
What are the origins of these tapestries? • No one knows for certain who ordered the tapestries • But the same coat of arms appears on each one.
That of the Le Viste family • Three silver crescents on an azure band • The LeVistes were a rich family from Lyon • They were upwardly mobile, not of noble origin • They worked for King Louis XII as legal experts
Look at the coats of arms on the next page.Can you find one that doesn't match the rest?
Voilà! • The lion porte wears a shield with the coat of arms reversed. • Why ? • Is it an error? To balance the picture? A hidden message? …..no-one knows….
The tapestries are sized differently, obviously custom made to fit on certain walls in one or more rooms.
It’s generally thought that the tapestries were ordered around 1480 by Jean Le Viste – the fourth in the family to bear this name. • He had just got a promotion in that year at the court of Louis XII . • We don’t know if they were ordered as a wedding present for his future wife, or just to show off his newly obtained fortune.
During the Middle Ages, tapestries were important features in the decoration of rich dwellings. • They acted as good insulation against the damp, cold walls • They also allowed their owner to show off their wealth.
How to order a tapestry? • Jean IV LeViste would have chosen the themes and then searched for an artist who would have been capable of translating his ideas into pictures. • The identity of the artist of this piece of work is unknown but it’s obvious that the pictures were drawn by a leading artist, in Paris. Such as artist is referred to in French as « Un maquettiste ». • The maquettiste translates his patron’s ideas into pictures of a relatively small size. • After this, a cartoonist redraws the maquettiste’s pictures enlarging them to the same dimensions desired for the tapestries. The new drawing is called « a cartoon ». • Then the tapestry maker has the job – with his team - of translating the cartoon with wool in the tapestry.
The tapestry was woven in Flanders, perhaps in Brussels • At this time, the best tapestry workshops in Europe were to be found in Flanders. • The tapestry makers of Brussels had a speciality called « mille fleurs » or thousand flowers. • It was easier to weave large backgrounds with wildflowers and little animals than to use just one plain colour where minor errors would be accentuated. The mille fleurs on tapestries had thousands of little plants and flowers. Here, there are little animals as well.
Not just the details in the drawings, but also the colour red used as the background makes these tapestries a luxury object. • The red has kept its lively colour, indicating that the wool was dyed with a very high quality pigment. (Madder was used for this colour).
How were these tapestries discovered? • Jean LeViste had no direct descendants and the tapestries were passed through other lines of the family. • In 1841 Prosper Mérimée, a government inspector of historic monuments visited the area of Limousin to create an inventory • He discovered the tapestries in the château de Boussac. • He classified them straightaway as historic monuments and wanted to take them to Paris – but without success. . • Eventually the Musée de Cluny bought them for 25.000 francs in 1882 Today the château de Boussac is a Bed and Breakfast!! Prosper Mérimée had two jobs. A clever man, he moonlighted as a writer, creating the libretto of “Carmen” the Opera by Bizet!
I was told by the Mayor that other tapestries exist, even more beautifuI, but the previous owner of the château cut them up to cover his coach upholstery and to make rugs. Mérimée’s 1841 report stated: No-one knows if the tapestries that were cut up were extra ones from the Lady and the Unicorn, of whether they were from a different set.
When you look at the tapestries: Note that in each one, the Lady has • A different headdress and hairstyle • A different dress • Different jewellery Look at the animals • The lion and the unicorn – how they differ from tapestry to tapestry • The animals, eg, the rabbits, the dogs, the foxes etc. Each animal has its own meaning. • Some animals are copied on to more than one tapestry. The trees • Four trees are used, a pine tree, signifying endurance, the hoIly – the spines and blood from Christ’s Crown of thorns, an orange tree, symbolising chastity and purity, and an oak tree, wisdom and strength.
SIGHT The lady holds a beautiful golden mirror in her hand, allowing the unicorn to admire itself. The lady looks tenderly at the unicorn. The unicorn is proud, it lifts the edge of the lady’s surcoat to show the rich material of the skirt underneath. Look at her headdress, the pearls, her necklace, her braided hair.
TASTE The lady offers a dragée to a parakeet who sits on her gloved hand. Her hair is held with a bandeau and a veil which floats in the breeze. She is young and smiling. Behind the lady is a fence, covered in briar roses. Her dress glistens, it is woven using golden thread.
Her servant is kneeling down, offering the dragées in a golden chalice. Her dress has beautifully embroidered sleeves. Notice the necklace, her belt fastening and her carefully arranged hair.
HEARING The lady plays the organ, which the servant blows. Like the lady and the servant, the animals listen attentively. The lady wears a sumptuous dress, the servant has a more modest dress, but even so, that is made in a silken damask.
Notice the lady’s long silken sleeves, the embroidery on her dress, which is edged with precious stones, her necklace and her bracelet. Her hair is braided, and she wears a decorated veil with a feather. A beautiful tablecloth has been placed under the organ. And look! On the organ, models of the lion and the unicorn.
TOUCH While the lady rather timidly tocuhes the unicorn’s horn, she holds the standard of the LeViste family with a firm hand. She is portrayed as young, like the unicorn which watches her intently. The four trees which surround them give balance to the scene.
The youth of the lady is highlighted by her long blond, freely flowing hair. Her black velvet dress shines, the sleeves are of voile and the necklace, silken cuffs and belt give her whole outfit a look of opulence. She wears a diadem which is studded with precious stones. A young woman of great wealth.
SMELL The lady is making a wreath of carnations. The tray held by the servant is full of flowers. Look at the detail on the servant’s sleeves. The animals are watching the lady, but it’s the little monkey perched on the bench nearby who takes a carnation to smell it.
Here, perhaps the lady is a little older. She hides her hair with a jewel covered veil. Similar jewels are used to edge her velvet dress and her sleeves. She wears a heavy gold necklace. The flower theme is continued with the red flower attached to her dress at the hip.
MY SOLE DESIRE The lady is in front of a pavilion, whose doors are held open by the lion and the unicorn. The lady’s lapdog sits on a cushion. The servant offers a little chest into which the lady places her necklace.
The lady appears older, no more is her hair long and braided but short, a little badly cut. Her red silk dress shines. She wears no necklace since she is placing it, with other jewels, into a simple wooden chest. Is she renouncing a life of luxury? What is her sole desire?
The delicate workmanship of the tapestry maker allows us to enjoy the fur of the lapdog, the patterns on his cushion, the skirt of the lady and the fine voile of her sleeves.
The animals of the tapestries tucked away in the mille fleurs
If youenjoyedlooking at this, go and see the real ones in Sydney (until July) ! Thereafter at Le musée de cluny in Paris. P. Barry 2018 Click here for my website Francofiles
