The Unicorn Tapestry

An artwork that I have loved for most of my life is the 14th century masterpiece tapestry of a Unicorn in a corral. It is so intricate and colorful. And the Unicorn himself is sad, powerful, and elegant. 

I have been blessed to have viewed this tapestry in the MOMA annex called the Cloisters in New York City—once in the early 1980s and then again in 2024. Both times I was lucky to be almost alone and was completely undisturbed during my meditation and appreciation. I feel that I not only absorbed it, I imprinted it in my memory to recall whenever I liked. I could not possibly count the number of times in my life that I have contemplated the Unicorn's  expression and his plight.

This week the New York Times surprised me with a challenge to spend 10 minutes viewing the tapestry online. So I was fortunate to have time to magnify and scroll, which is something impossible with the real artwork. Thanks to NYT, I present the screenshot below.

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