From the Symbol of Purity to a Pop-Culture Phenomenon: The Museum Barberini in Potsdam is devoting a major exhibition to the unicorn. Under the title “Unicorn. The Mythical Creature in Art,” about 150 works spanning 4,000 years will be on view from October 25, 2025, to February 1, 2026, including loaned pieces from the Louvre in Paris and the Prado in Madrid.
The museum’s chief curator, Michael Philipp, explains how it came about: “The unicorn motif runs through nearly the entire history of art, and it isn’t limited to European art; it also appears in Asian and Persian cultures.” The motif connects artists across spaces and eras. “The varied meanings attributed to the unicorn over time are as diverse as the ways it has been depicted.” The unicorn is a “border-crosser between fantasy and reality.”
The Existence of Unicorns
According to the museum curator, the belief that unicorns truly existed was not doubted until the 16th century. The reasons: “First, the unicorn is mentioned multiple times in the Bible—and what is written there was taken as truth—and second, ancient scholars like Pliny described the unicorn in their natural histories, descriptions that no one questioned,” says Philipp. Reports of alleged sightings also reinforced belief.
In medieval times, the horn of a unicorn was even displayed in some churches. “Only in the 17th century did researchers demonstrate that the white, pointed rods with a ridged surface were the tusks of narwhals,” Philipp explains.
Rhino, Donkey or Goat?
In backpacks, toy stores, or cartoons, unicorns are often depicted as horses with white fur—and that unmistakable horn on the forehead. “But this notion only emerged in the 15th century,” says Philipp. Consequently, ancient authors described the unicorn in many different ways. “Sometimes it was said to resemble a wild donkey, at other times it had elements of a rhinoceros, and then, as with Pliny the Elder, it was said to have the tail of a pig and the feet of an elephant.”
According to Philipp, a text that compared the unicorn to a small male goat had a particularly strong influence. As a result, the unicorn in medieval European art often resembles a goat.
From Wild to Chaste to Magical
While in antiquity the unicorn was still seen as swift and wild, making it difficult to capture, in the Middle Ages it became a symbol for Christ within the Church, later for chastity. “Until the 17th century, its horn was regarded as a miraculous medicine, which is why many apothecaries bore the unicorn name; some of these survive to this day,” says Philipp. “When it comes to the horn’s healing powers, there are some curious testimonies.” He cautions, however, against mocking the credulity of that era. “After all, people at the time could not know better—and even today there are folks who fall for fake news.”
Nevertheless, the unicorn’s transformation did not end there: “Shortly before 1900, Arnold Böcklin picked up the motif again and painted two works in which he honored the unicorn as an expression of artistic imagination,” the curator notes. The longing for something magical was exploited by an industry that has commercialized the unicorn in countless ways. “No other mythical creature is as widespread today.” Another touchpoint can be found in the queer community, “which sees in the unicorn the rare and wondrous, whose existence is disputed by some,” adds Philipp.
