Visconti-Sforza tarot cards
Encyclopedia
Overview
The surviving cards are of particular historical interest because of the beauty and detail of the design, which was often executed in precious materials and often reproduce members of the Sforza and ViscontiHouse of Visconti
Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...
families in period garments and settings. Consequently, the cards also offer a glimpse of nobiliar life in Milan, which the two families called home since the 13th century. When commissioned by Filippo Maria Visconti
Filippo Maria Visconti
Filippo Maria Visconti was ruler of Milan from 1412 to 1447.-Biography:Filippo Maria Visconti, who had become nominal ruler of Pavia in 1402, succeeded his assassinated brother Gian Maria Visconti as Duke of Milan in 1412. They were the sons of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Gian Maria's predecessor, by...
, Duke of Milan, and by his successor Francesco Sforza, the cards were still known as Trionfi
Trionfi (cards)
Trionfi, Italian name for playing cards with allegorical content, were probably used for a game of trumps in the 15th century. One typus of the Trionfi decks developed to the Tarot cards.-Name:...
("triumphs", i.e. trump) cards, and used for everyday playing.
The decks
The name "Visconti-Sforza tarot" is used collectively to refer to incomplete sets of approximately 15 decks, now located in various museums, libraries, and private collections around the world. No complete deck has survived; rather, some collections boast a few face cards, while some consist of a single card. The three most famous collections are discussed more in detail below.Pierpont-Morgan Bergamo
This deck, also known as Colleoni-Baglioni and Francesco Sforza, was produced around 1451. Originally composed of 78 cards, it now contains 74, i.e. 20 trumps, 15 face cards, and 39 "pip" cards. The Pierpont-Morgan library in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
has 35, the Accademia Carrara
Accademia Carrara
The Accademia Carrara is an art gallery and an academy of fine arts in Bergamo, Italy.-History:The origins of the art gallery lie with the Count Giacomo Carrara, a wealthy collector and patron of the arts, who left a generous legacy to the city of Bergamo at the end of the 18th century.After the...
has 26 in its catalogue, while the remaining 13 are in the private collection of the Colleoni family in Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
. Trumps and face cards have a gilt background, while the "pip" cards are cream-coloured with a flower and vine motif. The two missing trumps are the Devil and the Tower.
The figures on the suit of bastoni wear silver pleated garments and carry a long staff; a large vessel tops either end except for the King, whose staff has a finial only at the top.
Those on the suit of cups wear gold garments, embellished by the heraldic device of sun and rays; each figure holds a large chalice, as it is often the case with the suit.
The suit of spades shows figures dressed in full armour, carrying a large sword.
Curiously, the characters represented on denari wear garments decorated with blue ribbons wound around circular suns. The Knight of this suit is the only one not wearing a ducal crown.
Cary-Yale
Named after the Cary family's collection of Card Games, absorbed into the Yale University library in 1967, it is also known as the Visconti di Modrone set, and has been dated back to around 1466. Some scholars have, conversely, suggested this may be in fact the oldest of sets, perhaps commissioned by Filippo Maria Visconti at the onset of the project. 67 cards (11 trumps, 17 face cards and 39 "pip" cards) have survived, which has led to the (disputed) suggestion that, given the distribution of the Pierpont-Morgan deck, the total number of cards when this set was produced should have amounted to 86.In the 2007 book "The history of the tarot", scholar Giordano Berti proposes that the deck was produced between 1442 and 1447, because the denari cards (the suit in Italian playing cards corresponding to diamonds) bears the recto and verso of the golden florin coined by F. M. Visconti in 1442 and withdrawn from circulation at his death, in 1447.
The Cary-Yale is the only western deck with six face cards, as the "Damsel" and the "Lady on horse" supplement the traditional King, Queen, Knight and Jack. All trump cards have a gilt background, while the non-face cards have a silver one.
Brera-Brambilla
This set is named after Giovanni Brambilla, who acquired the cards in VeniceVenice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1900. As of 1971, the deck has been in the catalogue of the Brera Gallery in Milan. Apparently commissioned to Bonifacio Bembo
Bonifacio Bembo
thumb|Portrait of Francesco Sforza. ca. 1460.Tempera on panel, 40 x 31 cm. [[Pinacoteca di Brera]], Milan.Bonifacio Bembo was an Italian painter and miniaturist of the early-Renaissance period....
by Francesco Sforza in 1463, it now consists of 48 cards with only two trumps - the Emperor and the Wheel of Fortune. All face cards have a gilt background, while the non-face cards have a silver one.
The seven remaining face cards are: Knight and Jack of cups; Knight and Jack of denari; Knight, Jack and Queen of bastoni. Almost all "pip" cards have survived, as this set is only missing the four of denari.
Further reading
- Giordano Berti. Storia dei tarocchi: verità e leggende sulle carte più misteriose del mondo, Mondadori, 2007, ISBN 8-804-56596-9, ISBN 978-8-804-56596-3, 241 pages.
- Michael Dummett. The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards, G. Braziller, 1986, ISBN 0-807-61141-7, ISBN 978-0-807-61141-8, 141 pages.
- Gertrude Moakley. The Tarot Cards. Painted by Bonifacio Bembo for the Visconti-Sforza Family. An Iconographic and Historical Study, New York P.L. publishing, 1966.
- S. R. Kaplan. The Encyclopedia of Tarot, 2 volumes, New York: U.S. Games Systems, 1979-1986.
- Giordano Berti & Tiberio Gonard. Visconti Tarot, Llewellin - Lo Scarabeo, Minneapolis - Torino , 2002.
- Laurie Watts-Amato. Tarot Insights, AuthorHouse, 2004, ISBN 1-418-48330-3, ISBN 978-1-418-48330-2, 304 pages.
- Robert M. PlaceRobert M. PlaceRobert M. Place is an artist and author known for his work on tarot history, symbolism, and divination.-Work as an Artist:Place has worked since the 1970s as a sculptor, jeweler and illustrator. His sculpture has been exhibited on the White House Christmas tree, in, The New York State Museum, ...
. The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2005, ISBN 1-585-42349-1, ISBN 978-1-585-42349-1,
External links
- Visconti Tarot From the digital collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University
- XV-century Tarot history
- Visconti-Sforza deck at tarothistory.com