''A Virgin with a Unicorn'' ''(Fanciulla e l'unicorno)'' is a

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

painting by the Italian Baroque artist

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoe ...

, completed between 1604 and 1605. It is in the collection of the

Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French e ...

, in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Description

''A Virgin with a Unicorn'' was created for the decoration for Galleria Farnese under the direction of

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci ( , , ; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother Agostino Carracci, Agostino and cousin Ludovico Carracci, Ludovico (with whom the Ca ...

, who died a few years later after the piece was finished. The fresco was painted over the entrance and above the southeast wall of Galleria Farnese, an art gallery of Carracci, constituting one of his vault and ceiling frescos. It is the undisputed work of his student Domenichino, but it may be doubtful whether it was his sole effort. The painting is an allegory of chastity between the virgin and the

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

. It shows the unicorn being tamed in the lap of the virgin. The unicorn may always not symbolise virginity, and in this case is likely allegorical. The artist highlights the shyness of both subjects, as the scene is set at the edge of the woods instead of the center of the landscape. The gentle atmopshere of the piece is in contrast to Carracci's bloody scenery of his Galleria Farnese. The painting has been connected to the controversy concerning

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

and his mistress

Giulia Farnese Giulia Farnese (; 1474 – 23 March 1524) was an Italian noblewoman, a mistress to Pope Alexander VI, and the sister of Pope Paul III. Known as , she was a member of the noble House of Farnese, Farnese family, who were prominent leaders in the Ital ...

, who died about eighty years before the painting was executed, and allegedly is an allegory of the relationship between the two.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin With A Unicorn, A 1600s paintings Paintings by Domenichino Paintings of women Works about unicorns Horses in art Rivers in art Allegorical paintings by Italian artists 17th-century allegorical paintings Farnese Collection