This Painting Will Alter Your Brain Chemistry

I can't believe
I'm having my portrait painted

by one of the greatest artists of all time

whose name will someday
be spoken in the same breath

as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

Centuries from now this painting
will be on display for the world to see

and everyone will know my name.

- Nice painting, boss.

Who is that? Another artist
to admire my portrait?

- Well, it's in pretty rough shape.

Rough shape? How long have I been here?

- It's around 200 years old, I believe.

Can they hear my thoughts?

- I think it's time for a little refresh.

Refresh?

- Could you cover up
those racy shoulders?

But my shoulders are my best feature.

Since I don't know who she is,

I was thinking we could turn her
into St Catherine.

I'm not St Catherine. I'm...

- And get rid of that creepy
unicorn thing, while you 're at.

No, not the unicorn.

[...]

Unicorn, I knew they were real.

This piece is called
"Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn"

by Raphael, one of the greatest artists
of all time

who made this painting

and this painting

and this painting.

We'll, give her some space for now.

Gazing into those ocean blue eyes,

I wonder, who is she?

Why does she look like
the blonde version of the Mona Lisa?

And why is she holding a unicorn?

And when I look into those black Boba eyes

I can't help but think this little guy

looks like he's been
through a lot of shark

but that's because he has.

This painting went from this

to this

to this

and back to this.

If you think unicorns
are adorable, magical creatures

that poo pixie dust and live laugh love

until they poof,

prepare to have your world
absolutely rocked.

We're placed before a young woman
sitting on a fancy balcony

known as a "loggia",

if you ever need to know that
for Trivia or something.

A low wall separates her

from the dreamy bluish green landscape
behind her.

Her body turns slightly,
her head faces in our direction.

But her eyes dart sharply away.

Wisps of baby hair
frame her round rosy cheeks

which contrast her small delicate mouth.

On the tippy top of her head
a tiny clasp secures her golden hair

that twists away from her face
and cascades down her back.

A sheer fabric wraps around her shoulders

with a slope so steep
the rolling hills can't even compete

Such a dramatic incline
might seem unnatural to us now

but during the 1500s, it was the pinnacle
of female beauty and grace.

Her dress is opulent and expensive.

Red velvet sleeves puff out
from a tight corset

wrapped in fine green silk.

Her wide square neckline
showcases an elaborate gold necklace

made up of a knotted chain
holding a giant pendant

with an emerald, a ruby
and a large drop pearl.

She comes across as elegant
but aloof and completely unfazed

by what has to be the tiniest unicorn
ever nestled in her lap.

We can see her fingers
wrapped around its little legs

concealing its paws... hooves.

The tiny creature on the other hand
looks quite cozy and content.

Its head turned toward the girl,

its mouth is even slightly open
like it's letting off a soft

(Hoarse neigh)

Oops,

(Strong neigh)

That's better, I think.

Raphael painted the portrait
of a lady with a unicorn

in his early twenties!

Pretty unbelievable

but then again, that was Raphael,
always out to impress the world.

Sleep? He could do that
when he was dead.

Raphael was born in Erbino, Italy in 1483.

His father was court painter
to the Duke of Erbino.

Growing up in the Urbino court

meant that Raphael
was constantly exposed

to beautiful art, science and poetry.

But his fairy tale childhood came
to a screeching halt

when his mother died
when he was only nine

and only two years later
his father died too.

Raphael became an orphan
when he was only 11 .

Later in his life Raphael mentioned:

"My mother always told me

"that to succeed in this world,

"walk like you know
where you're going and why,

"especially if you're afraid."

And Raphael must have
taken this as gospel.

He took over his father's old workshop
when he was only a teenager

and by his late teens he was working
as an independent artist

on major commissions in the region,

including this piece he created
when he was only 19.

At some point around the turn
of the 16th century,

Raphael made his way to Perugia
to study under Pietro Perugino.

Perugino's influence is clear as day

when you compare their versions
of "Marriage of the Virgin" side by side.

Perugino's is striking
but Raphael's is just better,

a case of a student
surpassing the teacher, one might say.

Throughout his time in Perugia,
Raphael had his sights set on Florence,

a hot spot for wealthy patrons
and legendary artists

like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

Something tells me that,
when Raphael arrived in 1504,

he knew he'd be one of them
and soon.

Raphael once said:

"We live together, we train together,
we fight together,

"we stand for good together,
we are ninjas."

Oh sorry, wrong, Raphael.

But he did say
"The beauty of paint is in its silence."

And that is lovely

but you don't have to be
a prodige like Raphael

to enjoy making art.

And the sponsor of today's video,
Skillshare, can help you get started.

Skillshare is the largest online
learning community for creatives

with thousands of classes on everything

from illustration and design
to animation, photography and more.

Spring has arrived

which is the perfect time
for a fresh start.

Sometimes I can neglect creating art

because it becomes something so big
and scary in my head.

Maybe you feel that way too

but a great way to overcome this feeling

is by implementing a daily art habit

and Skillshare has a variety
of classes to help you stay inspired

and build creative momentum.

I find Mike's drawing class really
approachable and fun

and I think Zenina's watercolor
class is supremely relaxing

and she shows you step by step
how to make stunning works of art

that are quick and easy to make.

The classes are so therapeutic
and help you overcome

what I think is the hardest part
of creating art

which is getting started.

Skillshare's on demand format
and bite-sized lessons make it perfect

whether you're a beginner
looking for guidance

or an experienced artist
needing a spark of motivation.

And the first 500 people
to use my link in the description

will receive a one month free trial
to Skillshare.

There are so many courses
you can get through

before the trial is even over

so, it's definitely worth
checking out

Thanks again to Skillshare
for sponsoring this video.

Now let's get back
to the High Renaissance, shall we?

Raphael was charming, confident

and in Florence he absorbed
everything around him like a sponge,

Like many artists he learned
by imitating others

but Raphael had a unique ability
to absorb, adapt and refine their styles

and synthesize it all into something
uniquely his own.

He also created many of his famous
Madonna and Child paintings

while in Florence.

It's hard not to wonder
if his obsession with this subject

came from his own relationship
with his late mother.

He was especially obsessed
with Leonardo da Vinci's work,

the Mona Lisa in particular

and he tried his hand at it again

and again

and again

This sketch almost
looks like a blend of the two paintings

though it was likely more
of a study of the Mona Lisa

than a preparatory drawing

of the portrait of a lady with a unicorn.

Leonardo's influence is undeniable

when looking at Raphael's piece.

The balcony setting, the distant landscape

the half-length pose with the sitter
turned slightly away.

But she's distinct from the Mona Lisa

in that Raphael's lady
feels a bit more closed off

and has much more impressive traps.

Raphael is thought to have painted
the lady with a unicorn

around 1505 or 1506,

likely to commemorate a wedding

because back then this is usually

why portraits of young women
were made in the first place.

And given the context it makes
complete sense.

Why she looked so closed off?

Because in the 1500s most men
didn't want their wives

to be too open and approachable,

if you know what I mean.

There are a few clear
wedding related clues

in this painting,

First of all, she's wearing
a marriage belt,

a common bridal accessory.

Her necklace is also telling

as its gemstones were among
those typically worn by brides.

Pearls were known to symbolize purity

while emeralds and rubies
were commonly gifted to brides

as they were thought to promote
bodily strength,

a very similar pendant appears
in Raphael's portrait

of Maddalena Strozzi,

a noble woman who married
a wealthy fabric merchant

named Anulo Doni, in 1504.

She also happens to be one
of the proposed identities

for the portrait of a lady with a unicorn.

Maddalena was in the right place
at the right time.

to have sat for this portrait.

She had a clear connection to Raphael

and she got married around that time.

But the biggest reason she's believed
to be the lady with the unicorn

is because of the perceived resemblance
between the two ladies.

and I don't really see it

but let me know what you think.

let's revisit this drawing for a moment.

Art historian Linda Woke Simon
suggests

that it might be more connected
to Raphael's unicorn portrait

than previously thought.

She points out that the drawing
is a bit contradictory

because while the costume,
headdress and setting

is quite specific,

the girl's features are
much more vague and formulaic

kind of like Raphael was told
to draw a pretty lady

and this is what he came up with.

On the other hand,

the lady with the unicorn's features
are much more distinct.

She has blonde hair,
a very rare color in Italy, at the time

and blue eyes.

Woke Simon also suggests

that the structure on the right side
of the painting

represents the church
of San Francesco in Urbino

and that its prominent bell tower

was later transformed
into a tiny distant tower,

in "The Lady with the Unicorn".

If that's true, the painting's patron
could have had ties

to Raphael's hometown of Urbino.

So, who fits the bell?

According to Woke Simon,

one girl stands out from the rest.

Laura Orsini, a Roman noble woman

with connections
to both Urbino and Raphael.

Laura's mother was Giulia Farese,
a renowned beauty

and the mistress of the infamously
naughty Pope Alexander VI.

Everyone pretty much knew that Laura
was the Pope's biological daughter

and not Giulia's husband Orsino Orsini.

While we don't know
what Laura looked like,

we do know that the Pope had another
illegitimate daughter,

named Lucrezia Borgia,

who would have been Laura's halfsister.

And we know for sure
that she had blonde hair

since a lock of Lucrezia's hair
is currently on display

at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

Laura Orsini married
Nicola Franciotti della Rovere,

nephew of Pope Julius II
in November 1505

right around the time Raphael painted
"The Lady with a Unicorn".

There's just one problem.

Raphael and Laura
never actually crossed paths.

So, if this is her portrait,
he would have had to paint it

without ever seeing her,

which might seem strange to us now

but wouldn't have been
all that unusual at the time.

If this theory is true,
Raphael likely worked off

of some general
descriptons of Laura:

her curly blonde hair,
her rosy cheeks, her blue eyes,

her reserved nature

and then filled in the rest
based on the beauty ideals of the era.

but now I think it's time to address
the elephant, I mean, unicorn in the room.

Did tiny unicorns used to roam the Earth
and climb into people's laps all the time?

Unicorns have been galloping

through our collective
imagination for centuries.

But probably not in the way
you would think.

Let's go back to the beginning.

Tales of the one-horned creatures
date back thousands of years.

but it was Pliny the Elder
who really got specific

in his first century encyclopedia.

He writes

"The unicorn has the head of a stag,
the feet of the elephant

"and the tail of a boar,

"while the rest of its body
is like that of a horse.

The unicorn even shows up in the
King James version of the Bible

though many believe this was
actually just a translation mistake

and it was probably
referring to an ox.

By the second century,
the Greek Christian text Physiologus

added a spicy new detail to the myth.

Not only were unicorns strong,
untameable beasts,

they could only be subdued
by a virgin maiden

and by the European Middle Ages

this was basically accepted
as a fact of life scholar.

Isidore of Seville took it a step further
writing

"The unicorn is too strong
to be caught by hunters

"except by a trick.

"If a virgin girl is placed
in front of the unicorn

"and she bears her breast to it,

"all of its fierceness will cease
and it will lay its head on her bosom

and thus quieted is easily caught.

Even Leonardo da Vinci had a take
on the legend.

He wrote "The unicorn,
through its intemperance

"and not knowing how to control itself

for the love it bears to fair maidens

forgets its ferocity and wildness

"and laying aside all fear,
it will go up to a seated damsel

"and go to sleep in her lap

"and thus the hunters take it."

So, the unicorn became
the medieval symbol of purity.

But it was a little
more specific than that.

Medieval researcher Maggie Solberg
describes that the unicorn

does symbolize purity
in the sense of potency,

something ripe to be fertilized.

Rather than being a permanent state,

this type of purity ripens
until it's plucked,

In ancient patriarchal cultures,
you want to marry a virgin

in order to guarantee
that her children are your children.

Virginity is there to be taken
not a permanent state.

The reason why the virgin
and the unicorn go together

is that both of them are pure and potent

and about to be fertilized
or harvested.

Any prospective husband
looking at this portrait

would have known that this girl
hadn't been knocking boots

which, if this portrait is indeed
of Laura Orsini,

would actually be really
comforting to know

since she would have been
about 13 at the time.

In Laura's case, the unicorn could also
be a visual pun of sorts.

It might also be a nod
to Lara's maternal family, the Farnese,

since the unicorn appears
in their heraldic symbol.

A few years after painting "The portrait
of a lady with a unicorn"

Raphael was summoned to Rome
by Pope Julius II

to decorate the walls
of his personal library

and the rest was history.

Raphael remained in Rome
for the rest of his life.

It's where he created
some of his most legendaryworks

for the era's most rich and powerful.

Raphael died tragically at the age of 37.

His cause of death is still debated.

Perhaps it was a sudden illness,

maybe he worked himself
to the point of exhaustion.

Based on Raphael's reputation
as a ladies man,

art historian Giorgio Vasari
claimed Raphael's death

was due to excessive amorous pursuits.

Despite his brief existence,

Raphael left a mark on the art world
that is impossible to ignore.

He mastered harmony, balance and grace
in such a way

that apparently had mother nature
shaking in her boots.

On Raphael's tombstone is a couplet
written by Pietra Bembo, that reads:

"Here lies Raphael

"While he was alive, nature feared
that she would be surpassed.

"When he died, nature feared
that she would die too."

What's strange is that,
despite Raphael's fame and notoriety,

after he died we have no idea
what the heck happened to this painting

until it was finally mentioned in 1623

in the inventories
of the Aldobrandini collection,

a wealthy Florentine family.

In 1682 it was mentioned again

but this time
in the Borghese family's inventory

in Rome, listed under the description

"A painting on panel with a woman
seated with a unicorn in her arms...

"artist uncertain, somewhat flaking."

This means that by 1682,

the painting was alread
in pretty rough shape

and its connection to Raphael
had been all but erased.

We can also surmise that sometime
between the year 1623 and 1682,

the painting changed hands
from the Aldobrandini family

to the Borghese family.

But we also know that in 1682,
the lady was still with unicorn

but all of that changed

when sometime in the late 1600s

our unicorn queen was transformed
into St Catherine of Alexandria,

her dress concealed beneath
a heavy cloak,

her tiny unicorn covered
by a martyr's palm

and a spiked wheel.

We don't know for sure
why this painting was altered

Maybe it was because
of its poor condition.

Perhaps someone thought
she looked a little cold.

St Catherine of Alexandria
was a Christian martyr

from the early 4th century,

known for her intelligence, faith
and defiance

against the Roman Emperor Maxentius.

According to legend, she confronted
the emperor

debating his pagan philosophers

and trying to convert
everyone to Christianity.

Angered by her defiance,

Maxentius ordered
her torture and execution.

She was sentenced to die
on a spiked breaking wheel,

a brutal device designed
to tear her to pieces.

However, when she was placed on it,
the wheel miraculously shattered,

leaving her unharmed.

But the emperor was so mad
that she didn't die

that he ordered her
to be beheaded instead

and she did die from that.

The lady with a unicorn never asked
to become St Catherine.

It's possible she didn't even know
who that was

but dog on it, she cosplayed
as the woman for nearly 400 years.

What's interesting is that,
after her glow down,

no one even gave this painting
a second glance

because Raphael's name
had been completely erased from it

and also because the unicorn was gone,

which made it significantly less fun.

The portrait of a lady with a unicorn
was hiding in plain sight

and as the years passed
it became less and less likely

that she would ever be seen
in her original glory again.

Until the year 1927,

when art historian Roberto Longhi
laid his eyes on the painting

of St Catherine, he immediately
knew it was painted by Raphael.

Not only that, he also recognized

that large swaths of it
had been painted over

and he was right.

Finally, in 1933, X-rays were carried out
by the Borghese Gallery

that revealed the unicorn
hiding beneath the spiked wheel.

Restoration began but, probably,

because the original wood panel
was in bad shape

the painting was transferred to canvas.

After nearly 400 years,

Raphael's lady and her unicorn
emerged once again.

St Catherine may have made it out

from underneath
the spiked wheel unscathed

but our little unicorn
wasn't so lucky.

Infortunately, the first restoration
caused a lot of damage to the work

and in 1960 another restoration project
was launched,

This time, X-rays revealed
a shocking twist.

There was something else
hiding underneath the unicorn,

a lap dog.

So, Raphael originally painted a dog,

then swapped it out for a unicorn,

But why?

Dogs were often included in paintings
to symbolize fidelity so it

makes sense that it would be included
in a wedding portrait.

One theory is that the lap dog portrait

was meant for a previous engagement
that fell through

and funny enough that's exactly
what happened to Lara Orsini.

Before marrying Niccoló,
she was engaged to someone else

but when the Pope's nephew
became an option,

the old match was scrapped.

Ireally have a soft spot
for Raphael's portraits,

especially the ones he painted
later in his life, of his friends

At a time when portraits
could feel so stiff and lifeless

Raphael brought personality
into his paintings

and I really see that in the portrait
of a lady with a unicorn.

No, I was actually talking about her.

Raphael does a great job
capturing her personality,

even though we may never know
who she really was.

There are still so many questions
to be answered with this one

which is really annoying actually.

Is this Laura Orsini
or Maddalena Strozzi

or someone else entirely?

How is it possible that Raphael,
Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo

were in the same place
at the same time, creating art?

It seems like it would defy
the laws of Physics.

Did Raphael die from extreme
hanky panky?

Shouldn't it be lady with the lap dog
instead of lady with a unicorn?

I don't know
but what's even more annoying

than all of these unanswered questions

is that I'll never be able to look
at a unicorn

the same way ever again