This tapestry illustrates the tale of Narcissus, taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The story of Narcissus tells of a beautiful young man whom the gods caused to fall in love with his own reflection as punishment for his cold-hearted rejection of the love of others. Narcissus was a popular subject in the art and poetry associated with the medieval tradition of courtly love. In this tapestry, he is presented as a fashionably-dressed young man gazing at his reflection in the stone fountain set within a beautiful garden filled with birds and small animals.