The following contains spoilers for Death of a Unicorn, now playing in theatersDeath of a Unicorn incorporates the real life “Unicorn Tapestries” as a major aspect of their lore. Death of a Unicorn focuses on a father and daughter who accidently hit a unicorn with their car. After bringing it to his employers, the group find themselves contending with the creature’s parents. Most of the characters in Death of a Unicorn don’t initially believe in the full dangerous potential of the creatures, even as Jenna Ortega’s Ridley investigates the legends surrounding the creatures and successfully predicts much of the chaos that they are walking headlong into (even as her warnings are ignored).
One of the most clever ways Death of a Unicorn does this is by incorporating art history into the story. A major discovery that Ridley makes during her research is centered around the iconic Unicorn Tapestres. The beautifully woven pieces showcase a unicorn that is attacked and ultimately captured by hunters, which reflects the narrative of the film. Notably though, the film adds some new elements to the tapestries that further connect the artwork with the ending of Death of a Unicorn. Here is the true story of the Unicorn Tapestres and how they factor into Death of a Unicorn.
Death Of A Unicorn Uses The Unicorn Tapestries To Expand Its Lore
Ridley Being An Art Major Ends Up Being A Big Reveal
Death of a Unicorn incorporates the real-life Unicorn Tapestry into its approach to the lore surrounding the mysterious fantasy creature. After realizing that the Leopold family intends to carve up the baby unicorn for medical purposes, Ridley decides to research more about the history of the animal. Her research leads her to the Unicorn Tapestry, an iconic real-life piece of artwork from France at the turn of the 16th century. The tapestry, as in real life, depicts a maiden luring a unicorn into a trap for noblemen. The film quickly embraces the parallels between the tapestry and its own story.
Ridley is able to create a digital recreation of the full tapestry that has been lost to time, revealing more info about unicorns. While the real life tapestries depicted the capture of a unicorn, the lost parts of the artwork showed the brutal consequences awaiting the medieval lords for capturing such a creature. Ridley argues that the tapestries serve as a guide to dealing with the unicorns that over time has shifted from being perceived as a warning about a specific animal to become seen as a fantastical depiction of a mythical creature. Ridley’s interpretation of the tapestries prove correct.
The Real Life Unicorn Tapestries, Explained
The Real Tapestries Now Hang In New York City
The Unicorn Tapestries, otherwise known as the “Hunt of the Unicorn,” is a series of seven tapestries. Originating in the Netherlands by unknown artists and weavers, the original creators of the tapestries have been lost to time. Initially held in possession of the Rochefoucauld family, the tapestries were stolen and believed lost during the French Revolution. Although they were eventually recovered by the Rochefoucauld family, they were damaged in places and had to be restored, although the colors remained vibrant. As recounted by The New Yorker, John D. Rockerfeller Jr. procured the tapestries, where they now hang in The Cloistes.
Notably, parts of “The Unicorn Surrenders to a Maiden” remain missing, with the piece only existing today in fragments. This sets up Death of a Unicorn‘s revelation about the full tapestry.
Composed of seven pieces, the Unicorn Tapestries depict a group of hunters searching for a unicorn. The creature fights back, and can only be calmed by a virtuious Maiden, which allows the hunters to wound the fantastical animal and return it to the castle. The most famous of the tapestries, “The Unicorn Rests in a Garden,” depicts the mighty creature now domesticated and kept within a small gated space. Notably, parts of “The Unicorn Surrenders to a Maiden” remain missing, with the piece only existing today in fragments. This sets up Death of a Unicorn‘s revelation about the full tapestry.
How The Unicorn Tapestries Factor Into Death Of A Unicorn’s Ending
Ridley Being a Modern “Maiden” Sets Up The Climax Of Death Of A Unicorn
The tapestries and the missing parts of the fragments establishing the true nature of the unicorns aren’t the only ways the tapestries come into play in the film. One of the big twists of Death of a Unicorn centers around Ridley’s status as a “Maiden” capable of connecting with the unicorns. As established when she goes to comfort the injured baby unicorn, Ridley’s unexpected connection with the animal opens up her eyes to their seemingly cosmic connection. This also repeatedly saves Ridley, as the older unicorns spare her life at certain points of the film while quickly dispatching the others.
Ridley being the Maiden even gives her the ability to calm the creatures, something Shepard initially tries to use to his advantage. Having revisited Ridley’s research, Shepard’s theory that the unicorns won’t attack Ridley proves correct. He even briefly gets the chance to tie up the briefly docile animals to capture them, almost giving him an ultimate victory. Elliot refuses to play along, getting himself mortally wounded but giving the unicorns an opening to burst free and kill Shepard. This embrace of the Maiden may even ensure the unicorns save Elliot and Ridley from the police in the film’s ending.
The Lost Unicorn Tapestry Foreshadows Death Of A Unicorn’s Biggest Deaths
The Credits Of Death Of A Unicorn Reveal How The Tapestry Teased Every Major Death
At one point in Death of a Unicorn, Ridley uses the technology available to the Leopolds to create a replication of the lost fragments of the tapestries, which depict the unicorns killing multiple people in brutal ways. Notably, as confirmed by the credits, these deaths actually all foreshadow the casualties of the Leopolds and other minor characters. The credits initially play out against the imagery of the “lost” fragments, with the focus repeatedly shifting to a different part of the picture for each credited actor. For the Leopolds and a few others, these images mirror their fates in the movie.
Although Elliot is also killed during Death of a Unicorn, he is resurrected by the unicorns. This is reflected in the credits, which do not depict his actor Paul Rudd alongside a sH๏τ of the dying medevial lords.
In the film, Odell is stabbed through the head, Belinda is eviscerated, Shepard is kicked in the head, Dr. Bhatia is ripped in half, and Dr. Song is impaled. Each of these deaths is seen in the lost fragments of the tapestry. While the lost unicorn tapestry is only briefly seen once, it foreshadows all the ways that the cast of the film is whittled down — teasing just how gory the film will eventually become. It’s a clever touch and a fun way to further connect Death of a Unicorn to an exaggerated version of a real life artistic artifact.
Source: The New Yorker
