Les floraisons intérieures

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Presentation

“A young woman with a pale and contemplative face and flowing garments is standing in the middle of a flowery island, haloed by light. Forever accompanied by a lion and a unicorn, she feeds a green bird, fashions a crown from carnations, or plays the organ. She has been named the Lady of the Unicorn, and appears in the six tapestries discovered by Prosper Mérimée in La Creuse castle, which have hung in the Cluny museum since 1882. Historians have agreed that the series presents an allegory of the five senses, which encourages one to employ them correctly in a moral sense. Yet the sacred atmosphere that emanates from the hangings provokes a more profound and philosophical interpretation.

For thirty years I have paid regular visits to the Lady. This book, fruit of both my research and my own reflection, is a personal response. In studying the gestures, the clothes and the coat of arms, Les Floraisons intérieures follows the guiding thread of desire. It emphasises the metaphysical dimension of this masterpiece and on the spiritual journey that it secretly illustrates.”

Jacqueline Kelen

Jacqueline Kelen dedicates most of her books to the deciphering of myths and to understanding the mystical path. Notable works published at La Table Ronde include La Puissance du cœur (2009), Un chemin d’ambroisie (2010) and L’Impatience de l’absolu (2012).

"Reading Jacqueline Kelen is an unfailing joy for the spirit and the heart, for the books of this marvellousely cultivated essayist arise from a poet’s pen." La Libre Belgique