Giulia Farnese (1474 – 23 March 1524) was mistress to Pope Alexander VI. She was known asGiulia la bella, meaning "Julia the beautiful", in Italian. Lorenzo Pucci described her as "most lovely to behold". Cesare Borgia, son of Alexander VI, described her as having "dark colouring, black eyes, round face and a particular ardor"
A restoration of the painting in 1934-36 confirmed art historian Roberto Longhi's hypothesis that the work was by Raphael, and the removal of heavy repainting revealed the unicorn, traditionally a symbol of purity in medieval romance, in place of a Saint Catherine's wheel. Later restoration work on the painting in 1959 revealed the image of a dog, even earlier than the unicorn, also a symbol of chastity and conjugal fidelity
Lady with a unicorn, (Giulia Farnese) by Rafael di Sanzio(1505) A restoration of the painting in 1934-36 confirmed art historian Roberto Longhi's hypothesis that the work was by Raphael, and the removal of heavy repainting revealed the unicorn, traditionally a symbol of purity in medieval romance, in place of a Saint Catherine's wheel. Later restoration work on the painting in 1959 revealed the image of a dog, even earlier than the unicorn, also a symbol of chastity and conjugal fidelity
No comments:
Post a Comment