Tarot - Arts and Magic - International Exhibition
THE GAME OF TAROTS
In the first decade of the 15th Century in one of the following cities, such as Milan, Bologna or Ferrara, this card game was conceived and, from the 16th Century, it quickly spread in Europe. The Tarots were originally used in games with rules near to those of the chess and for this ingenious character, the Ludus Triomphorum was expressly omitted in the ordinances against the games of hazard emanated during the 15th Century.
Besides, thanks to numerous Renaissance documents, it is known that in aristocratic courts the game of Tarots was at the centre of sophisticated entertainments, for example the invention of courtly sonnets and answering questions of various kinds concerning cards taken from the pack.
Another common practice that lasted until 19th Century, was that of associating the Tarot figures to famous people, composing sonnets or simple mottoes on them which might be praising, comic, or decidedly satirical in tone.
In the 18th Century there was a rich production of Tarots developed with fantastic scenes, inspired to the animal world, to the history, to the mythology, to the customs of the various people.
But since it was an hazard game, with all the consequences that this involved, starrting from the 16th Century the Church intervened to repress it. Jusat after a hundred years from their creation, the Christian meaning of the Mystical Staircase on which their order was structured, had been already forgotten.
These playful and literary practices soon however lost their importance. As early as the end of the 15th century an anonymous Dominican preacher denounced the Tarots as the work of devils, and supported his claim by arguing that in order to draw men into vice the inventor of the game had deliberately employed solemn figures such as the Pope, the Emperor, the Christian virtues, and even God.
The good monk writes besides that "if the player thought about the meaning of the papers, he would run away. In fact in the cards there is a fourfold difference. There is money running away form players’ hands. And this means the instability of the money of the player, because you must think that when you enter in the game you will loose your money. They are also there the cups to show what a poverty will come, because the poor player with no more glasses will drink in a cup. They are also there the batons. The wood is dry to suggest the aridity of the divine grace in the player.
There are even the swords that mean the brevity of the life of the player since he will be killed, etc. Really, no kind of sinners is so desperate as that of the card players. When a player loses and cannot have the desired point, the card or the triumph, it strikes the cross in the money, cursing God or the saints, and he throws away the dice with anger telling himself “That I had my hand cut off” etc.
Very easily he becomes angry with the companion that derides him and continually rise some offenses and they beat each other etc.” The anonymous preacher then ends with the canonical sentence “Player, open your eyes or yiou’ll get a bad end”.
Despite the sentence of the Church the Tarots kept on spreading, so much that beginning from the 18th century, Tarots were imported in Italy from France and in particular from Marseilles - whose design was imitated by producers in Lombardy and Piedmont to renovate their own production.
Then, under the pressure of more modern games, the Tarots gradually disappeared, so that today they are used in a few places in Sicilia, Emilia, Lombardy, Piedmont and south-eastern France. But in the meantime the Tarot images had been subject to esoteric manipulations and interpretations which led them to be considered as "magical icons".
4 THE GAME OF TAROTS 16th - 20th centuries
This section is illustrated by
ancient hand-painted cards coming from different Italian regions and European
Nations, ancient illustrated books and manuscripts about the game and its rules,
etchings with card players, posters and edicts from kings or governments, very
rare and precious boxes to hold cards and counters.
Cards
The list here is only illustrative and synthetic and not final. In fact, for
every Italian regionour Cultural Association has a wide number of specimen of
tarots. Here, being the exhibition targeted to the symbolic universe and the
allegorical iconography of the Tarots, it does not include the exhibition of
identical packs coming from different printers, being the iconography very
similar. The presence of German Tarots, as well as of Austrian and French Tarots
with landscape and animal sceneries, is purely explanatory of a trend, as is the
exhibition of posters and edicts from kings or governments and of card
boxes.
Tarots from Bologna
Tarocchino Al Leone
Bologna, beginning of 18th C.
Wood-cuts painted
with stencils
Tarocchino Grandi
Bologna, half of the 19th C.
Wood-cuts painted with
stencils
Tuscan minchiate
Minchiate Etruria
Florence, 1725
Wood-engravings painted with
stencils
Minchiate Al Mondo
Bologna, 18th C.
Wood-engravings painted with
stencils
Minchiate Neoclassiche
Florence, 1820
Wood-engravings painted with
stencils
Lombard Tarots
Tarot Al Soldato
Milan, 1780
Wood-engravings painted with stencils
Tarot Neoclassico
Milan, 1810
Wood-engravings painted with stencils
Tarot Gumppenberg-Della Rocca
Milan, 1825
Wood-engravings painted with
stencils
Tarot Gumppenberg
Milan, 1850
Wood-engravings painted with stencils
Tarot Dotti
Milan, 1850
Wood-engravings painted with stencils
Tarot Dotti
Milan, 1860
Wood-engravings painted with stencils
Ligurian and PiedmonteseTarots
Tarot Lando
Turin, 18th C.
Wood-engravings painted with stencils
Tarot Marengo
Turin, 18th C.
Wood-engravings painted with stencils
Tarot G.B. Guala in Ghemme
Turin, 1850
Wood-engravings painted with
stencils
Tarot Viarengo
Turin, second half of 19th C.
Wood-engravings painted
with stencils
Sicilian Tarots
Tarot Fortuna
Palermo, approx. 1840
Wood-engravings painted with
stencils (Reproductions)
Tarot of Concetta Campione
Catania, 1940
Offset in colour
French Tarots
Tarot of Marseille N. Conver
Marseille, 1760
Hand-painted
wood-engraving
Tarot of Marseille B. Suzanne
Marseille, 1820
Hand-painted
wood-engraving
Tarot of Marseille Gassmann
Geneva, 1863
Wood-engravings painted with
stencils
Tarot of Besançon Renault
Besançon, 1830
Hand-painted
wood-engraving
Tarot Nouveau
Paris, 1900 (Grimaud)
Chromolithographs
Tarots with fantasy scenes
Tarot Allegorico
Tarot by Joseph Estel, Wien, 1815
Hand-painted
wood-engravings
Tarot Industrie und Glück (Industry and Fortune)
Wien, 1870
(Piatnik)
Hand-painted etchings
Tarot Industrie und Glück (Industry and Fortune)
Wien, 1900
(Piatnik)
Chromolithographs
Tarot with Animal scenes
Tarot by A.B. Gobl, Munich, end of 18th
C.
Hand-painted etchings
Tarot Dondorf
Frankfurt, 1906
Chromolithographs
Tarot with Hunting scenes
Trieste, early 19th C.
Wood-engravings
painted with stencils
Jugendstil –Tarock (Ditha Moser)
Wien, 1982
Offset (Piatnik)
The
original version of these cads appeared in 1906.
Books
.Sieur de la Marinière ( Jean Pinson de la Martinière )
La Maison
Academique
(The academic House)
Lyon, 1674
Anonymous
Istruzione per i novelli confessori
(Instructions for the
new confessors)
Lucca, 1725
Carlo Pisarri
Istruzioni necessarie per chi volesse imparare il giuoco
dilettevole delli
Tarocchini di Bologna
(Necessary instructions for who
wants to learn the amusing game of the Tarocchini di Bologna)
Bologna,
1754
Antonio Malatesti
La Sfinge, enigmi sulle Minchiate
(The sphynx,
enigms about the Minchiate)
No place, no date (Florence ?, late 17th C.)
Miche L'Angelo Barbiellini
Trattato de' giochi e de' divertimenti permessi
o proibiti ai cristiani
(Treaty about the games allowed and prohibited to the
christians)
No place, 1768
Diderot - D'Alembert
Pamphlet about the manufacture of cards, from the
"Encyclopedie"
Paris, 1770
Anonymous
Academie Universelle des Jeux
(Universal Game
Academy)
Lyon, 1805
Camillo Cavedani.
Lettera di un dilettante della partita a Tarocchi ad un
amico desideroso d’apprendere un metodo facile per conteggiare con la massima
sollecitudine
(Letter of an amateur of the Tarot game to a friend willing to
learn immediately a simple counting method)
Bologna, 1812
Carlo O.
Regole inalterabili per tutti i giuochi di tarocco detti di
commercio (Unchangeable rules for all Tarot games called commercial)
Turin,
1830
Anonymous
Regole generali del gioco delle Minchiate
(General rules for
the Minchiate game)
Florence, 1852
Anonymous
Il gioco dei Tarocchi
(The Tarot game)
Pictures included
in Sonzogno Almanac, Milan, 1886
Henry Ren d'Allemagne
Les cartes à jouer (Vol.s I°- II° – III° – IV°)
(The playing cards)
Paris, 1906
Manuscripts
Anonymous
Leggi correttive degli abusi introdottisi nel gioco delli
Tarocchi
(Correction rules for the abuses made during the Tarot game)
no
date, 18th C.
Anonymous
Del modo di giuocare il Tarocco, ossia alla Partita
(About
the way of playing Tarot, or about the game)
Bologna, 1840
Anonymous
Il Giuoco de' Tarocchini sopra Michele Tekeli ribello
(The
Tarocchino game as per Michele Tekeli, rebellious)
Bologna, 19th C.
Posters
Editto sul gioco delle carte
(Edict about playing cards)
Naples, King
Ferdinand the Fourth, 1760
Manifesto camerale
(Room poster)
Turin, Royal printing-office, March
28, 1761
Edict of his majesty
Turin, Royal printing-office, December 18, 1763
Manifesto camerale
(Room poster)
Turin, Royal printing-office,
December 29, 1774
Manifesto camerale
(Room Poster)
Turin, Royal printing-office, January
10, 1776
Manifesto camerale
(Room poster)
Turin, Royal printing-office, June
12, 1815
Editto Reale
(Regal edict)
Turin, Royal printing-office, May 16,
1815
Manifesto camerale
(Room poster)
Turin, Royal printing-office,
November 17, 1820
Avviso sulle tasse delle carte
(Notice about the cards tax)
Turin,
Royal printing-office, November 18, 1825
Avviso sul bollo delle carte
(Notice about the stamp of the playing cards)
Turin, Royal Printing - office, November 18, 1825
Avviso sul bollo delle carte
(Notice on the stamp of the paying cards)
Bologna, General Contractor of the Stamp on the playing cards authorized by
the Monsignor General Treasurer, November 18, 1825.
Patente sul bollo delle carte da gioco - Regno Lombardo Veneto
(Patent on
the stamp of the playing cards - Lombard and Venetian Kingdom)
Our Residence
in Wien (We, Ferdinand the First, with the Grace of God, Austrian Emperor),
January 27 th 1840.
Tools for the games
Card box
Inlaid wood, with several compartments
Italy, 18th C.
Card and counter box
In lacquered wood, containing four boxes with bone
counters - Love scenes on
top and bottom of the main box and on the internal
boxes.
Venice, 18th C.
Card and counter box
In lacquered wood,
containing four boxes with bone counters - Chinoiserie scenes on top and bottom
of the main box and on the internal boxes.
Venice, 18th C.
Card and counter box
In lacquered wood, containing four boxes with bone
counters - Seafaring scenes on top and bottom of the main box and on the
internal boxes.
Venice, 18th C.
Card and counter box
In lacquered wood, containing four boxes with bone
counters - Mythological scenes on top and bottom of the main box and on the
internal boxes.
Venice, 18th C.
Game box
Made of red lacquered wood, with flower patterns, it contains
four rectangular smaller boxes to hold the counters. Each cover of the smaller
boxes holds a turning disc made of bone to count the scores.Chips made of
bone.
Venice, 18th C.
Card and counter box
In lacquered wood, containing four boxes with
landscapes painted on the lids,
counters of various shapes in coloured
ivory.
Vienna, early 19th C.
Card box
In lacquered wood, containing four boxes with bone counters –
Neo-classic rose-pot on top and bottom of the main box and on the internal
boxes. Chips made of bone.
England, early 19th C.
Card box
In wood finished with silver, containing four boxes with the
figures of four kingspainted by hand on the lids, counters of various shapes in
precious stones.
Italy, early 20th C.
Art Dec card box
Walnut, corners in thuya, feet in silver, back in ebony
with ivory inserts.
Italy ?, around 1930
Prints
Jacques Callot (Nancy 1592 - 1635)
The cardsharper
Etching
Jonas Süyderhoef (Leida 1613 - Haarlem 1686)
Brawl between
card-players
Etching
Cornelis Pietersz Bega (Haarlem 1620 - 1664)
The young inn-keeper
caressed
Etching
Nikolaus Van I Hoy (Antwerp 1631 - Wien 1679)
Noblemen playing
Etching
Giuseppe Maria Mitelli (Bologna 1634 - 1718)
Conversazione considerabile
(Considerable conversation)
Etching
Giuseppe Maria Mitelli ( Bologna 1634 - 1718)
Chi gioca per soldi perde
per necessità
(Who plays for necessity will surely loose)
Etching
Anton Joseph von Prenner (Wallerstein 1698 - Wien 1761)
Brawl between
card-players
Etching
D.C. C. Fleischmann (active in Nurnberg 1690)
The empty jug
Etching
Heinrich Guttemberg (Wöhrd 1743 - Nurnberg 1818)
Card players
Etching
Jean Heudelot (Montpellier 1730 - ?)
The interrupted game
Etching
Pieter Tanjé (Bolswart 1706 - Amsterdam 1761)
The cardsharper
Etching
Jean Dambrun (Paris 1741 - 1808)
Le partie de Whist
Coloured engraving
Johann Jacob Haid (Kleineslingen 1704 - Augsbourg 1767)
Das Lombre Spiel
(The play of the Man)
Etching
Pierre Chenu (Paris 1730 - approx. 1780)
Sailors having fun
Etching
Pierre Chenu (Paris 1730 - approx. 1780)
Les amusements des matelots
(The amusements of the sailors)
Etching
Anonymous (18th C)
L’Apotecaire charitable
(The benevolent
chemist)
Etching
Anonymous (18th C)
The cardsharper
Etching
Anonymous (France beginning of the 19th C.)
Napoleon Officiers and
gentlemen playing cards
Drypoint
Carl Daniel Voigt (Brunswick 1747 - Kiel 1813)
The cheating
players
Aquatint
Richard Hatfield (London 1809 -1867)
The reduced gentleman's
daughter
Steel
Claude Thielley (Rully 1811 - 1891)
Paris Salon
Colour Lythography
Anonymous (19th C.)
Knights of our Lady
Lythography and coloured
chalk
Albert Henry Payne (London 1812 - Leipzig 1902))
Der Trumpeter
(The
trumpeter)
Etching
Edward. Smith (London active 1823 - 1851)
The queen of hearths
Etching
Lithography in colour
Anonymous (19th C.)
Merry friars
Lithography coloured in chalks
Albert Henry Payne (London 1812 - Leipzig 1902)
Bambini al gioco delle
carte
(Childrens playing cards)
Etching
Berard (France, 19th C.)
Une soirée d’etudians
(An evening of
students)
Litography
Other works
Anonymous (France 17th C.)
Brawl between card-players
Arras