Tarocchi di Dario Fo

Tarocchi di Dario Fo
Dario Fo and Dominique Gobbo, 1999

This is a 78-card tarot deck conceived by Dario Fo, the 1997 Nobel Laureate in Literature. This book and deck set was published in 1999 by Dal Negro, and is packaged in a slip-case box which includes a 96-page paperback with both Italian and English translations as well as crisp black and white reproductions of every card in the deck.

As soon as you unwrap the deck, you feel that you are holding a masterpiece. The artwork is truly stunning, and the large size of the cards (3 3/8" x 6") is nice to see when reproducing a deck with this kind of detail. The printing by Dal Negro is excellent, and they have used a card stock which has a very slight woven texture to the surface which, along with the beautiful matte coating, make the cards feel almost silky to the touch.

According to the book, the pictures were jointly created by Dario Fo and Dominique Gobbo, an Italian graphic designer. Dario Fo describes how he was gradually won over to the Trump images over the course of several years. As an author and playwright, he came to see profound parallels with Renaissance art, mathematics, and the sciences of ancient cultures. Some of the philosophical and mystical ideas behind the Tarot were also brought to light for him through the interests of his son Jacopo, who authored his own book on the history and artwork of the cards. One chapter from Jacopo’s book provides much of the important commentary in Dario’s own text, including the meanings for the 22 Trumps.

The inspiration behind this deck was to create a series of cards with the Holy Year as its theme. Dario describes their concept: “The idea was to recreate certain themes and subjects from our own Middle Ages and Renaissance, including the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. We were interested in a Holy Year atmosphere from the point of view of the Duchies of Mantua, Parma, Ferrara, Florence and the Republic of Venice. So we shamelessly and ruthlessly plundered the pictures of dozens of great masters of that time from Paolo Uccello to the Carracci, from Raffaello to Lorenzo da Credi and so on.”

The scans above only hint at the variety of detail running through this deck. One item of note is the variety in the card borders; every single card in the deck has its own unique design. The two larger scans of The Star and the Knight of Swords also show the complexity in some of the backgrounds. There is a lot of activity going on behind the main characters, as if we are looking at multiple stages at once. Though the book gives us brief meanings to the 22 Trumps, there are otherwise no descriptions for any of the scenes in the deck. Dario says, in fact, that “I shan’t waste time describing the hidden meanings of the Major and Minor Arcana entailed, now it is up to you to amuse yourselves in trying to imagine and discover the hidden meanings. We are sure that in turn you will find far more bizarre and entertaining meanings and paradoxes than even we had bargained for.”

Most of the cards in this deck could probably be divided into two primary artistic treatments; one in which the images are fully painted with layers of detailed scenery and texture, and another which renders the figures with a very whimsical line onto simple backgrounds. The Trumps and court cards tend to be painted with the complexities of the first category, and the pip cards tend to fall into the second category. But the deck always retains a homogenous feel, and several cards appear to combine the two approaches, such as The Fool and the Queen of Cups above. Even the most simply-drawn figures in this deck are very expressive.

The Italian playwright himself is known for his expressive versatility when performing his plays on stage, always improvising, always interacting with his audience. He is often referred to as a clown who makes us laugh while at the same time challenging us. His writing is well known for pushing the envelope of controversy, treating subjects such as the injustices of society and the corruption of those in power. He was denounced by the Vatican and banned from Italian airwaves when he portrayed a 12th century Pope known for hanging monks by their tongues from the church doors when they didn't agree with him. He was also apparently refused a visa to the United States during the 70’s and 80’s because of the nature of his political satire. As he plays the part of clown, Dario Fo may well be symbolized by the image on his Trump 0, The Fool. With his bag of tricks held teasingly in the air, he holds onto the tail of the rabid dog trying to devour him.

You can usually find this deck at Il Trigono and at Alida.

Review by Mark Filipas, 3/13/00