Mantegna Tarocchi

Known misleadingly as the “Mantegna Tarot,” this set of fifty prints (shown here in a selection) is neither by the famous artist Andrea Mantegna nor a true tarot deck. The images are arranged in five groups of ten, each reflecting a distinct theme: the conditions of man; the Muses and Apollo; the Liberal Arts; the Virtues; and the Heavenly Spheres. Carefully numbered and labeled, the prints were likely intended for educational purposes rather than gameplay. With its ethereal imagery and lofty abstractions, the series presents a humanist understanding of the cosmos, through which the viewer is meant to ascend, starting with the lowly beggar and ending with the “first cause” of all things—that is, God.

While neither a proper tarot nor attributable to Andrea Mantegna, the so-called "Mantegna tarocchi" is an important reference in early tarot history due to its inclusion of specific imagery closely associated with the tarot. Created in Venice or Ferrara between 1465-1467, the 50 engravings illustrate humanist ideals, probably used for educational purposes. The ideals illustrated in the series include tarot-analogous iconography such as the Virtues (Strength, Temperance, and Justice), the Conditions of Man (Misero and Saturn both have elements of Il Gobbo/the Old Man/The Hermit; the Artisan resembles The Magician; plus The Emperor, The Pope, as well as several compositions which distinctly resemble other tarot trumps and court cards), as well as the Heavenly Spheres (The Star, The Sun, The Moon). The series also features subjects relating to the Muses, the Liberal Arts, and the Genia of Light (including the Genius of Time and the Genius of The World).