Triumph of the Unicorn
1540–50
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
23.2 × 38.6 cm (9 3/16 × 15 1/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
86274
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Jean Duvet depicted unicorns in several of his print series as representations of purity. Here the procession of the Triumph of the Unicorn symbolizes the victory of Christianity. God the father, presented as Jupiter, ushers the son, the unicorn, into paradise with the crown of heaven. Duvet densely engraved his prints; the varying degrees of ink tone in this impression imply that the printing plate was either unfinished or worked over a long period of time.
About the Artist
Jean Duvet · 1485–1570
Jean Duvet (1485–after 1562), a pioneering French goldsmith and engraver from the provincial heartlands of Dijon and Langres, emerged as the first significant printmaker in France. Born to a Dijon goldsmith, he trained in the family trade and rose swiftly, becoming master of the Dijon Goldsmiths' Guild by 1509. Duvet's early career blended goldsmithing with engraving; no specific teachers are docu...