Top 10 Things to See at the Borghese Gallery in Rome
7123
2Lady With Unicorn By Raphael (Room (IX)
Painted in 1506, the Borghese family acquired this work only in 1760. They didn’t know it was a Raffaello painting at the time, because this work was only attributed to the artist in the 19th century when its restoration took place.
Nobody really knows who the mysterious lady could be and even today, her identity remains unknown. This woman is looking directly at the observer, holding a unicorn in her hands, which is a sign of virginity. Her pose, as much as the background, is a clear reference to Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with the Ermine. Apparently, after several studies, it has been possible to establish the fact that Rafaello chose to portray a unicorn in her arms during a revision. The artist had originally portrayed a dog instead.
