Unicorn and a Young Woman (by Domenichino) Playing Cards

This design features a fresco painting by the Italian Baroque artist Domenico Zampieri (1581–1641), known as Domenichino. It shows a girl in an embrace with a white unicorn, which is a mythical creature that has been described since ancient times as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In the Middle Ages, the unicorn was considered to be an extremely wild woodland creature, yet a symbol of purity and grace, which could be captured only by a virgin girl, as shown in this painting. The unicorn's horn was also said to have the power to render poisoned water safe to drink and to heal the sick. The original fresco was completed circa 1602, and it is housed in the Palazzo Farnese, a grand building in Rome, Italy.