Attention, event! From October 30, 2021 to January 16, 2022, The Lady and the Unicorn disembarkation at the museum of Slaughterhouses. And here are the reasons why you absolutely must admire this masterpiece!

Why is it an event

Absolute masterpiece from the collections of the Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen
Age presented exceptionally out of his writing at the MET in New York (1973), Japan
(2013) and in Sydney (2018), the six tapestries composing the tent of The Lady and the Unicorn
traveling for the first time in France since their acquisition in 1882. And for the first time in a museum dedicated to contemporary art.

Exceptional for the quality of its execution, bewitching and intriguing by the mysteries that surround it, The Lady with the Unicorn is one of the most beautiful works of the Middle Ages. The vast modernization project underway at the Cluny museum is an opportunity to exhibit this historic work in a region where it has never been presented.

A masterpiece surrounded by mysteries

The six tapestries (each more than 3 meters high and 2.9 to 4.7 meters wide) which make up The Lady with the Unicorn constituting a treasure of medieval art. Woven around 1500 at the turn of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, The Lady with the Unicorn is considered both by historians and by the public today as a masterpiece.

Discovered in 1841 by Prosper Mérimée at the castle of Boussac (Creuse), the tent was acquired in 1882 by Edmond du Sommerard, first director of the Cluny museum. Often considered the “Mona Lisa” from the Cluny museum, The Lady with the Unicorn is undeniably a complex work, which intrigues and holds.

The meaning generally given to the parts making up the tent is that of allegories of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. However, there are six tapestries and the mystery remains as to the interpretation of the last piece, the only one that bears an inscription: “My only desire”. Several other questions surround these tapestries, such as the exact identity of the sponsor.

A work that had already found refuge… in Toulouse!

“The choice of the city of Toulouse owes nothing to chance”, indicates Severine Lepape, director of the Cluny museum.

“For several years now, we have maintained close and fruitful relations with its cultural establishments – our first exhibition after reopening, devoted to the arts in Toulouse in the 14th century, will be the result of a partnership with the Musée des Augustins. I have every confidence in the Abattoirs teams to take care of our venerable Ladies and our fierce unicorns. It’s not not the first time they happen in the Pink City. During the First World War, this is where they found refuge, like so many other Parisian works threatened by war and bombardment, ”she adds.

Why is it exhibited in a contemporary art museum?

What the hell is doing this medieval work in a contemporary art museum? The question needs to be asked.

“The meeting of the tent with contemporary art, in a museum dedicated to the art of our time is an unprecedented exploration. If the characteristic of masterpieces is to be timeless, their strength is also to offer sources of reflection renewed in each era. This is why we have invited artists to be the smugglers today. The emerging themes can thus surprise, such as feminism and life with nature, so significant in these times of search for equality and ecological and climatic emergency ”, indicate Annabelle Ténèze, the director of the Abattoirs.

She adds: “The symbolic figure itself of the unicorn, both mythological and pop icon, has never been so popular. It is thus to artists, who draw from the Middle Ages a formal, thematic and conceptual resource for today, that place is also given, including by reactivating so-called artisanal artistic techniques, such as tapestry and illumination. , or the monument with the creation conceived for the exhibition of the Southway Studio collective ”.

What to see?

The presentation of the tapestries at the Abattoirs will be accompanied by a set of works by contemporary artists which will put the Lady with the Unicorn in perspective from a current angle as a foundational work of respect for nature and female representation.

It will also be compared to the textile masterpiece of the Abattoirs, the stage curtain by Picasso, La Dépouille du Minotaure en costume d’Arlequin produced in 1936 for Romain Rolland’s “Quatorze-Juillet”. A dedicated cultural program will also highlight the influence of the Middle Ages on contemporary art.

Practical information
Slaughterhouses
76 allées Charles de Fitte, 31300 Toulouse
Open Wednesday to Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Nocturnal on Thursday until 8:00 p.m. (excluding school holidays)
Prices: 8 euros (5 euros reduced price).
More info on the slaughterhouse site.

Has this article been useful to you? Note that you can follow Actu Toulouse in the Mon Actu space. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.