Origin of Tarot: Tarot Essays by Ross Gregory Caldwell: Papessa

<p><center>This project uses frames, your browser doesn't allow frames.<br> <a href="http://geocities.com/autorbis/">Click here</a></center></p> <center><h1>Papessa: A Detail</h1> <p> <img src="images/2.jpg"> <img src="images/fournierWeb.jpg"> <table width="60%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="6" bgcolor="#FEFEFE" summary=""> <tr> <td bgcolor="#FEFEFE"></td> </tr> </table><br> <br><table width="60%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="6" bgcolor="#FEFEFE" summary=""> <tr> <td bgcolor="#FEFEFE">Only two hand-painted Papessa cards survive from the 15th century - The Papessa of the Pierpont-Morgan-Bergamo (or Visconti-Sforza) pack (left) and that from one of two incomplete packs in the Fournier Playing-Card Museum in Vittoria, Spain (right). Although clearly related, the cards are by different artists, and most commentators believe that the Fournier Papessa is a later production, one or more copies removed from Bembo's in the Visconti-Sforza deck. The notable differences between them are the darker colour of the Fournier Papessa's habit or cope, and the prominence of her triple tiara. Because the artist has darkened the Papessa's cope, he has correspondingly lightened the colour of her book.</td> </tr> </table><br> <p> <img src="images/bemboslipper.jpg"> <img src="images/fournierslipper.jpg"> <br><table width="60%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="6" bgcolor="#FEFEFE" summary=""> <tr> <td bgcolor="#FEFEFE">One difference in detail seems not to have been noted before - the tip of a slipper with a rosette is visible coming from beneath the Fournier Papessa's cope. <p>The differences between the two Papesse can perhaps be attributed to a desire of the Fournier artist to heighten the dignity of his Papessa: Fournier's garments are deeply tinged with colour, not plain; her papal triple-tiara and crozier stand out from the background, and she has episcopal footwear appropriate to her office, rather than what might be taken to be the rough leather shoe of Bembo's Papessa (if not clearly a dark fold in the fabric of the cope). The Fournier artist placed a prominent rosette on the slipper, in order to further draw attention to the detail. These details suggest that the Fournier Papessa's artist saw the Papessa in a somewhat different way than Bembo understood her. <p>In line with the idea that some artists saw a connection between the Papessa trump and the Papessa Giovanna (Pope Joan), is the interpretation that the slipper is an allusion to Pope Joan's baby, which can be seen in contemporary depictions such as those in illustrations of Boccaccio's popular <i>Famous Women</i>,</td> </tr> </table><br> <img src="images/femmes_clatantes.jpg"> <br><table width="60%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="6" bgcolor="#FEFEFE" summary=""> <tr> <td bgcolor="#FEFEFE">where her baby, who is born during a procession, is seen coming out from under her robe. In the legend, it is at this time that Papa Giovanni VIII is revealed to be really Giovanna, a Papessa not Papa. She had hitherto kept the secret, but the truth, her real nature as femina, could not be hidden forever, and in a moment it slipped out.<br><br> <h3><i>(Ross Gregory Caldwell)</i></h3> </td> </tr> </table><br> <center> <h3> <a href="http://trionfi.com" "target="_blank">Framed Version</a>       <a href="http://trionfi.com/1test/NoFrame2.html" "target="_blank">Content of Trionfi.com</a>       <a href="http://google.com" "target="_blank">Google</a></h3> <table border="0" cellspacing="10" bgcolor="#00CCFF" summary=""> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top">© copyright: Trionfi.comLinks at the site might lead to foreign sources. We're not responsible for the contents of these sites. If you're interested to communicate or to add informations to some of our articles or to publish articles to the theme of Tarot in 15th century, please send your mail to the<a href="mailto:webmaster@trionfi.com">webmaster</a>