The Lady and the Unicorn

by Alain Erlande-Brandenburg

Book by Erlande-Brandenburg, Alain

Genres: Art, History, France, Art History

78 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Rylie Henderson]

The Lady and the Unicorn is an elegantly written work of fiction which captures and portrays interesting elements of human nature, in a readable and amusing way. You will find no laborious passages, prolonged tangents or arduous descriptions – all of which is an amazing feat considering the work was inspired by six tapestries that, while being gloriously imposing, do not contain within their design a shred of the plot-arc (although they are presented as symbolic reflections, which is merely a matter of perspective). Rather Alain Erlande-Brandenburg is able to peek through the tapestries to reveal a hidden world that is believable and remarkably ordinary.

[LuAnn]

While this book doesn’t contain nearly as much text or background as the The Lady and the Unicorn by Elisabeth Delahaye, a later director of the Musée de Cluny-Musée-Nationale du Moyen Âge, on the same set of tapestries, the vast number of photos earn it four stars.

The closeup photos highlight the intricacy of the design and subtlety varied colors of the weaving that give the figures dimensionality and realism. The many black and white photos also reveal the skills of the artist, cartoonists and weavers as the details of the design are preserved through contrast of light and dark threads. A great resource for appreciating the tapestries in detail.

[Céline]

Un ouvrage sur le mystère que représente les tapisseries de "La dame à la Licorne" qui se trouve au Musée de Cluny actuellement.

[Stormy]

Fantastic tapestries.

[Marck]

Reading The Lady and the Unicorn is like growing from a wizard boy to a mature painter.