Where Is Lady with a Unicorn? Museum Location

Q: Why is she holding a unicorn?

In medieval and Renaissance symbolism, unicorns represent chastity and purity. They could only be tamed by virgins. The creature suggests this may be a portrait celebrating a bride's virtue.

Q: Was the unicorn always in the painting?

No. X-rays show the unicorn was originally a dog, then painted over as a wheel (Saint Catherine's attribute), before conservators revealed the unicorn.

Q: Who is the woman in the portrait?

The sitter's identity is unknown. She may be a young noblewoman portrayed for her betrothal or marriage. Some scholars have proposed specific candidates, but none are confirmed.

Raphael completed this Lady with a Unicorn around 1506, showing a young woman holding a small unicorn. The composition echoes Leonardo's Mona Lisa: the subject sits before a landscape, hands folded, turning slightly toward the viewer.

X-rays revealed the painting was altered over time. The unicorn was originally a dog, then painted over with a wheel (attribute of Saint Catherine), before restoration revealed the unicorn. The mythical creature symbolizes chastity and purity, suggesting this may be a wedding portrait. The sitter's identity remains unknown. The painting hangs in the Borghese Gallery.

In medieval and Renaissance symbolism, unicorns represent chastity and purity. They could only be tamed by virgins. The creature suggests this may be a portrait celebrating a bride's virtue.

No. X-rays show the unicorn was originally a dog, then painted over as a wheel (Saint Catherine's attribute), before conservators revealed the unicorn.

The sitter's identity is unknown. She may be a young noblewoman portrayed for her betrothal or marriage. Some scholars have proposed specific candidates, but none are confirmed.

Lady with a Unicorn

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Raphael

Miraculous Draught of Fishes

The Liberation of Saint Peter

Head of a Muse

The Parnassus

Also at Borghese Gallery, Rome

Sacred and Profane Love

Young Sick Bacchus

Melissa (Circe)

Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix

Related Renaissance Works

The Adoration of the Magi

Salvator Mundi

The Birth of Venus

Pallas and the Centaur

Venus of Urbino

Venus with a Mirror

Laocoön

Mona Lisa

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