Where do unicorns come from?
25/01/2026
By Dr. Michael Philipp, Chief Curator, Barberini Museum, Potsdam
How to make an exhibition about an animal that does not exist? The unicorn is magical. No one has ever seen one alive, and yet everyone has a certain idea of what they look like. This is based on the countless paintings, drawings, tapestries, illuminated manuscripts, and sculptures that artists have created of this mystical animal since the Middle Ages. The Barberini Museum in Potsdam and the Musée de Cluny with the Grand Palais RMN in Paris have organised the exhibition Unicorn: The Mythical Beast in Art, featuring over 140 loans from international museums. The lecture explains how to organise an exhibition on such a “magical” topic, how to select the loans, how to obtain them and what new insights can be gained from this work.
Language of the talk: English
Join us at 4 pm at the stand King Baudouin Foundation
In collaboration with CODART
How to make an exhibition about an animal that does not exist? The unicorn is magical. No one has ever seen one alive, and yet everyone has a certain idea of what they look like. This is based on the countless paintings, drawings, tapestries, illuminated manuscripts, and sculptures that artists have created of this mystical animal since the Middle Ages. The Barberini Museum in Potsdam and the Musée de Cluny with the Grand Palais RMN in Paris have organised the exhibition Unicorn: The Mythical Beast in Art, featuring over 140 loans from international museums. The lecture explains how to organise an exhibition on such a “magical” topic, how to select the loans, how to obtain them and what new insights can be gained from this work.
Language of the talk: English
Join us at 4 pm at the stand King Baudouin Foundation
In collaboration with CODART
