Tarocco di Sissi

Tarocco di Sissi
Amerigo Folchi, 1989

This deck by Italian artist Amerigo Folchi was published in 1989 by Italcards. It is a numbered, limited edition of 3000. An additional 1000, however, were printed specifically for the patrons of Bagaglino Hotels, which commissioned the deck and holds the copyright to it.

I was surprised to learn that this deck is based on the person of Elisabeth of Austria, Sissi being the nickname given to her as a child. Folchi wrote the little booklet that comes with this deck, but he gives us very little history and does not associate the cards with any historical names or events. The viewer must find her own parallels.

Sissi was born a Duchess in Bavaria. Her spontaneity and idealism (The Fool) were cut short by her marriage at the age of sixteen to the King of the Hapsburg Empire. It was originally intended that her sister Helene would be betrothed to the Emperor, but it was Elisabeth with whom Franz Joseph fell in love.

She immediately found herself trapped by the strict etiquette of the royal court, an atmosphere that was stifling to her independence and eventually to her health. Her chief antagonist was an overbearing mother-in-law, the Archduchess Sophie, who was considered to be the real Empress of the court because of her cunning political influence. Considering the woman’s expression in Trump III, The Empress, I assume it to be a depiction of Sophie, the maternal heavyweight in Sissi’s life. The Archduchess seems to have exerted inordinate control over her son Franz Joseph (The Emperor). She also attempted to keep Elisabeth politically weak by swaying the opinions of the aristocracy against her.

There are many cards in this deck which might represent the young Elisabeth, the Queen of Wands being one of them. Elisabeth was known for her unsurpassed beauty. She also sought her refuge in nature by taking hikes into the Viennese woods or by riding horses through the royal grounds. In later years she would train to become an expert equestrienne.

Perhaps The Wheel of Fortune represents the tragic downturns she faced in life: the early loss of her youth, the ridicule of the Viennese elite, the suicide of her son Prince Rudolph, and the death of her sister and mother. One consolation may have been the sincere love of her husband Franz Joseph (The Lovers). Yet the two of them were, as Folchi describes, “two very different human beings pitted at times against each other but nonetheless linked together in their fate.”

The fully illustrated minor arcana cards have a wide range of scenes. The suit of Wands depicts recreational activities which might have been enjoyed by nineteenth-century Austrians, such as mountaineering, hunting, skiing, fishing and riding. The suit of Swords depicts soldiers, war and conflict, and the suits of Cups and Coins show scenes of peace and prosperity. I find Folchi’s rendering of the human form much nicer here than in some of his other decks. In fact I have many favorite cards in this deck, especially his ghostly version of The Moon, shown above.

Folchi concludes his introduction to the deck:

“It is therefore quite understandable that this glorious but embattled dynasty would trigger the imagination of the people as well as the historians; many mythical embellishments and additions were added to the facts while historical figures were shrouded in lively and suggestive auras and visions.

“And it is in this almost mythical and visionary atmosphere that I have plunged to find the inspiration for this new Tarot deck. The figures in each Triumph have been taken freely from the wall paintings in the Hofer Hall, a nice and interesting example of Alpine Art Deco style, found in the Relais Club des Alpes at Madonna di Campiglio. The hotel building and the estate at Madonna di Campiglio were bought in 1886 for the son of Franz Joseph to be used as hunting reserve and summer residence for the Imperial family and the Viennese court.”

This deck can usually be found at Alida.

Review by Mark Filipas, 8/25/00