Raças de unicórnio do mundo: o caderno de ilustrações de uma artista viajante

Abstract

This paper has as its theme the history of the unicorn myth and the artistic production of the expeditionary artists. It explored the versatility of the unicorn image, considering the descriptions found about it, and the use of the “art object”, the notebook, as a way to present the practical production. As a foundation for the study of the unicorn the works of the authors Odell Shepard and Margaret Freeman were used, and the works of Roger Balm, Luciana Rossato and Pablo Diener and Maria de Fátima Costa for the study of the expeditionary artists. It brings as basis the changes in the descriptions and images of the unicorn backing up the creation of 19 breeds of unicorn based on existing horses breeds, presented in a handmade notebook. The illustrations were disposed included into a narrative involving a fictional expeditionary artist, given that the order of the presentation of the unicorns follows the itinerary of her travel. It has as reference the aesthetics of Delacroix’s notebooks produced during his travel to Morocco. At the end, it describes the connections made between both themes, sustained by the notebook, and also descriptions of the production process and exhibition of the art piece.