Visconti Tarots

Visconti Tarots
Atanas Alexander Atanassov, 2000

This 78-card deck recreates one of the earliest known Tarots, the Visconti-Sforza. It is not a historical reproduction but rather a complete repainting of the deck as it might have originally appeared circa 1450. The extant cards of the original are dispersed across three museums, with the exception of four cards which are entirely missing: The Devil, The Tower, 3 of Swords and Knight of Coins. Their counterparts in this new deck are therefore based on designs from the same period.

The Bulgarian painter Atanas Atanassov has faithfully maintained the style of the original fifteenth-century pictures, taking very few artistic liberties aside from the four newly conceived cards. In places where the original designs were damaged or worn away, his modern version appears faithful to the surrounding area. Even small details were maintained. And in my opinion, his faces are more beautifully painted than those of the original deck.

Perhaps the only liberty taken was by the publisher Lo Scarabeo, which has added black borders to each card, unlike the parchment edges of the original. Yet the black borders compliment Atanossov’s rich coloring much better than white would have. The borders are thankfully thinner than those of most decks, and so are less intrusive to the image; more publishers should follow this lead. The borders also display the title of each card—a helpful detail considering that the original cards did not include titles or numerals.

Lo Scarabeo took the extra step of adding metallic gold backgrounds into the trumps and court cards, mimicking the gold leaf of the originals. The foil patterns of this modern deck, however, are perhaps too precise. While it would have been preferable to see a more “manually etched” simulation, this is only a minor quibble.

Atanassov’s work can be compared to a reprint of the original images here. He recreates almost every line and pattern of the originals; even the garment folds reflect his carefulness. A comparison of the star pattern in Temperance’s dress shows his attention to detail.

Atanassov’s version of The Tower and The Devil—two cards missing from the extant deck—are his own conception of how these may have appeared. His version of The Tower can be seen beside Il Meneghello’s reinvention of the card (at bottom of page).

Many of the Visconti-Sforza designs differ from later trump patterns, though they do reflect iconography common to their times. The Lovers (shown in the top row) reflects the “betrothal portraiture” popular in Renaissance Italy, which showed young couples joining hands beneath the winged figure of Cupid. Some scholars have suggested that the two figures represent Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti.

The Wheel of Fortune (shown above) is a traditional Renaissance depiction of the rise, reign, and fall of social prominence; the destitute old man at the bottom was a detail not usually seen in later decks. The respective status of the figures is indicated by banners of Latin inscription; beginning with the figure on the left and proceeding clockwise, their translations read: I shall reign, I reign, I have reigned, I am without reign.

The World (shown above) of the Visconti-Sforza decks depict ‘the heavenly city’ or ‘New Jerusalem’ within a sphere held high by two cherubic figures. The image was a fairly common depiction of the cosmos in miniature, a reflection of the larger universe.

The Visconti-Sforza deck includes the traditional Page, Knight, Queen and King. Shown below are the Queen of Swords and the Page of Coins.

The pip cards of each suit are decorated with ornate vines and foliage. The Two of Cups, seen above, shows the cup style used throughout the suit. This particular card includes a banner which reads amor-myo, or “my love,” which Stuart Kaplan suggests may represent “the consummation of the love of husband and wife through the drinking of wine from two chalices” (Encyclopedia of Tarot, Volume I).

Also shown above is the Eight of Swords. The Ace through Five of this suit each show a banner which reads A bon droyt, or “To the good belongs the right”.

It should be noted that three of the pip cards in this deck were printed upside down, relative to their outside borders: the Ace, 2 and 4 of Wands. At the time these mistakes were noticed, the production process was too far underway to warrant the expense of corrections. Later this year, Lo Scarabeo will be republishing the entire deck in a new edition, at which point they will correct these errors. The Devil, the Tower and the Knight of Pentacles have also been redesigned for the new edition, which will also be larger (66 x 120 mm) and include a book by Giordano Berti.

This beautifully painted deck has a “classical Italian” feeling, with rich, earthy tones and ornate detail. It was published in 2000 by Lo Scarabeo and is readily available through Llewellyn.

Review by Mark Filipas, 2/22/02