FEATURES ARCHIVE

A Rare Mystery: the Mantegna Tarocchi
As a specialist in the field of prints I have been involved in many journeys of discovery, but few have been as fascinating as the one I am currently on in the company of this intriguing set of prints from Northern Italy. The forty-nine engravings known as the ‘Mantegna Tarocchi’ are one of the rarest and most enigmatic groups of prints in the history of western art, and their mysterious beauty has provoked much speculation as to how they were used and by whom they were made.

First seen in the early 15th century, Tarocchi – from which the English and French word Tarot derives – were packs of cards used to play a whole variety of games. But whilst this set superficially resembles other Tarocchi, it does not relate to any known game and it is doubtful they were ever played with in the conventional sense.

Higher Things
The 50 prints are numbered consecutively from 1 to 50 and sub-divided into five groups of ten, lettered E, D, C, B and A. As a pictorial cycle, it forms a whole cosmology and describes the universe in a hierarchical progression. These five groups of images seem to represent five strata or levels of the world, from the lowliest earthly existence to the most powerful and abstract force. The first group illustrates the ranks of mankind, from beggar to Pope. The next group depicts the Nine Muses and Apollo, the third the Liberal Arts, the fourth Genii and Virtues and the fifth and final group shows the heavenly bodies and spheres, beginning with Luna and the planets - the gods of antiquity – culminating with ‘The Eighth Sphere’, ‘The Prime Mover’ and ‘The First Cause’.

What particularly fascinates me is how in 15th century Italy, in educated, secular circles, the universe was understood, and how ‘the great beginning’, the cause of all things, was as much the subject of speculation as it is today. Those who made and first saw these prints would probably have been amused to know that, 500 years later, we still can't see beyond that ‘First Cause’, which we now call the ‘Big Bang’. Whatever the exact use of these prints, they must in some way have served an intellectual, educational or even just conversational purpose. Given the beauty and elegance of the images we can assume that they were created for a very sophisticated, perhaps courtly, audience.

A First
In technical skill and accomplishment of the designs, these engravings form one of the first high-points in the history of printmaking in Italy, and in many ways mark the beginning of printmaking as a fine art.

In the Family
The first page of this book of prints is inscribed in brown ink “De Natalitis Benedetti suoi amici e fratelli”. The inscription is by Natalizio Benedetti (1559-1616), priore novello and antiquarian in the Umbrian city of Foligno. The prints have remained in the family for over 400 years and have come down to the present owners by descent.