Raffaello Sanzio, Lady with a unicorn, Oil on canvas applied on wood, Rome Borghese Gallery

Visiting the Borghese Gallery only one hundred years ago, we would had seen, in this painting, a Saint Catherine from Alexandria.

At the end of the XVII century the original iconography was indeed modified. The naked shoulders – not suitable for a saint – had been covered with a scarf, and the unicorn too by a wheel and a palm, simbolising the martyrdome of the saint.

In the 1760 inventory of the Borghese Gallery the artwork is registered as a Saint Catherine by Perugino.

The famous art historian Roberto Longhi sensed the presence of two hands and suggested further investigation.

The following restoration brought back to light the original painting by Raffaello, a portrait of a young lady with a unicorn.

Bibliography: P. Moreno, C. Stefani et alii, Galleria Borghese, TCI, Roma 2000.

Image after restoration scanned from the book quoted; image before the restoration taken from fondazionezeri.unibo.it