Mantegna Tarocchi

Mantegna Tarocchi
Engraving no. 44: Sol (the sun) from the E-series

The Mantegna Tarocchi, also known as the Tarocchi Cards, Tarocchi in the style of Mantegna, Baldini Cards, are two different sets each of fifty 15th century Italian old master prints in engraving, by two different unknown artists. The sets are known as the E-series Tarocchi Cards and the S-series Tarocchi Cards (or E series, e-series etc.), and their artists are known as the “Master of the E-series Tarocchi” and the “Master of the S-series Tarocchi”. There are also a number of copies and later versions. Despite their name, they are educational visual aids.

Contents

Name a misnomer

The name appears to be a mistaken confusion by later writers with the contemporary card-game of Tarocchi, which includes many extra picture-cards. These are neither playing cards nor Tarot cards for fortune-telling but were presumably educational tools for upper-class children, although no documentation of their use survives. Some sets bound up in book form at early dates survive (e.g. BNF, Paris, and Pavia), and all examples are printed on single sheets of thin paper.[1] Examples in Cincinnati and New York have traces of hand-colouring in gold, which is very rare in prints.[2]

Art historians no longer believe Andrea Mantegna was the engraver of any of them, as was thought until the nineteenth century, but the name is still used, mostly as “the so-called Mantegna Tarocchi”. Baccio Baldini was a Florentine engraver who was also brought into consideration as a possible author in the past, hence the name also used in the past of Baldini Cards or Tarocchi.

E and S series

E-series, number 23, Rhetoric

They remain important examples of Italian engraving, and are mostly owned by museums as part of their collections of old master prints. The original two sets are called the E-series and the S-series, of which the E-series is generally considered the older (since AM Hind made the case). It is on the whole the better engraved, and usually the better printed of the two. Differences between the two show the E-series Master was more aware of the literary sources for his images. Most images are reversed between the series (i.e. mirror-images).[1]

Their place and dates of creation are still debated, but Ferrara about 1465 (E-series) and 1470-5 (S-series) are considered most likely. Some of the images are copied in a manuscript dated 1467, which is believed to give a terminus ante quem for the E-series.[2]

The titles of some cards are written in a Ferraran or Venetian dialect — “Doxe” for Doge or Duke, and “Artixan” for artisan. Some subjects were copied from playing-cards, and some from other sources in contemporary art. Other designs had to be invented. Two prints on quite different subjects have been generally attributed to the unknown “Master of the E-series Tarocchi”, and one to the “Master of the S-series Tarocchi”.

Contents of the sets

In card terms all are “picture” or “court” cards. There is the name and number of the card in Roman numerals at the bottom, and the group capital letter and number in arabic numerals in squares in the bottom corners. All have simple decorative borders. The subjects are grouped in five sequences numbered: 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40 and 41-50, each group consisting of ten engravings:

  • E/S (1-10): Conditions of Man — Hierarchy of persons, from beggar to emperor and pope:
1 Beggar
2 Servant (Fameio)
3 Craftsman (Artixan)
4 Merchant (Merchadante)
5 Gentleman (Zintilomo)
6 Knight (Chavalier)
7 Doge (Doxe)
8 King (Re)
9 Emperor (Imperator)
10 Pope (Papa)
  • D (11-20): The nine Muses and Apollo
  • C (21-30): The seven Liberal arts and three other basic sciences of the time: Philosophy, Astrology and Theology
  • B (31-40): 3 Genia of light: Genius of the Sun (Iliaco), Genius of Time (Chronico) and Genius of the world (Cosmico), and the Seven virtues
  • A (41-50): The seven Spheres of the Sun, Moon and five traditional planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn), the eighth sphere (Octava Spera) of the fixed stars, the Primum Mobile and Prima Causa (First Cause, God)

The complete set is a humanistic model of the Renaissance cosmos. The letter “E” of the first group, for “Estates” (of Man) in Italian was changed to the letter “S” for “Stations” between the E and S series, hence the names for the two series.

Later versions

There were later copied versions, mainly by German artists:

  • Michael Wolgemut 1493-1497 (Dürer’s Master) tried to realise a book-project
  • Albrecht Dürer drew copies of several during his visits to Italy 1495 and 1505, presumably just for his own reference.
  • Ladenspelder in Cologne produced ca. 1550 a complete copy of the E-series
  • Andrea Ghisi (early 17th century) incorporated the figures inside a game, the Labyrinth game, adding some other new motifs

See also

References

  1. ^ a b JA Levinson (ed), Early Italian Engravings from the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art (Catalogue), 1973, LOC 7379624
  2. ^ a b M Zucker in KL Spangeberg (ed.), Six Centuries of Master Prints, Cincinnati Art Museum, 1993, no. 5, ISBN 0-931537-15-0

External links

Pictures:


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mantegna Tarocchi — Kupferstich Nr. 44: Sol (die Sonne) aus der E Serie Die Mantegna Tarocchi (italienisch) sind 50 Kupferstiche des 15. Jahrhunderts, die in verschiedenen Bearbeitungen überliefert sind. Andrea Mantegna wird nach Ansicht von Kunstexperten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mantegna — ist der Name folgender Personen: Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506), italienischer Maler und Kupferstecher Joe Mantegna (* 1947), US amerikanischer Schauspieler und Regisseur Siehe auch: Mantegna Tarocchi, 50 Kupferstiche des 15. Jahrhunderts, die in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Andrea Mantegna — St. Sebastian, 1480; panel; Musée du Louvre Birth name Andrea Mantegna Born c. 1431 I …   Wikipedia

  • Playing card — Blue Rider back Bicycle Playing Cards by USPCC …   Wikipedia

  • Old master print — The Three Crosses, etching by Rembrandt, 1653, State III of IV An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition (European or New World). A date of about 1830 is usually taken as marking the end of… …   Wikipedia

  • Death (Tarot card) — Death card redirects here. For the playing card, see Ace of spades. . Death (XIII) Death (XIII) is the thirteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in Tarot, tarock and tarocchi games as well as in divination …   Wikipedia

  • Minchiate — is a late medieval card game, probably originating in 15th century Florence, Italy. It is no longer widely played. Minchiate can also refer to the special deck of playing cards used in the game. The deck is closely related to the tarot cards, but …   Wikipedia

  • Карты Таро — У этого термина существуют и другие значения, см. Таро. Карты Таро система символов, колода из 78 карт, появившаяся предположительно в Средневековье в XIV XVI веке[источник не указан 43 дня], в наши дни используется… …   Википедия

  • Animal tarot — is translated from German Tiertarock. The earliest French suited tarot cards were created in Germany during the 18th century probably by Göbl of Munich and the theme of animals replaced the traditional trump scenes of the Tarot de Marseilles and… …   Wikipedia

  • Minor Arcana — King of Swords card from a Minor Arcana deck The Minor Arcana (or Lesser Arcana) of occult or divinatory tarot refers to the portion of a Tarot deck that consists of 56 cards. The Minor Arcana are roughly similar to the cards found in a common… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”