This deck of large sized cards was drawn by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli around 1660-65, for the Bentivoglio, a noble family of Bologna, the same city where the artist was active. The owners' crest is featured on the ace of Cups.
is probably the earliest specimen of non-standard or fancy tarot based on the pattern of Bologna; by the time it was made (17th century), it must have been considered an absolute novelty. As far as now, it is also the only edition of this kind known, as any other fancy tarot made since the 16th century has always been modelled on the pattern used in France and in the rest of Europe, now better known as tarot of Marseille.
To fully relish the beauty of Mitelli's deck, one should bear in mind the
standard design of the tarot pattern of Bologna, and the ordering of its trumps, which slightly differ
from the well-known
Marseille versions (see
page II
and
page III for details).
The trump illustrations do not feature the subject's name (also ordinary
versions of the
Tarocchino Bolognese are nameless), but their numbers too are omitted, so that the
ranking of the trumps is left to the player's own experience.
The following cards are among the most interesting ones of the deck.
The first trump, previosly shown, is quite different from what
the Conjurer (a.k.a.
the Magician) usually looks
like: it features a street artist performing with a dog, surrounded by a crowd of public.
But in all tarots, including the
Marseille pattern, the
Magician
is actually a performer of trivial acts (i.e. not a wizard, as the English name might wrongly suggest), so the difference
in Mitelli's
Magician is mainly graphic, without any real difference from the subject's original meaning.
The following card features a seated figure who holds a scroll over
one knee, seen frontwards, indeed recalling the Popess; the
personage, though, has a beard. The subject is, in fact, one of the Popes, the four subjects with the same rank that in Bologna tarot temporarily took the place of all four civil and religious authorities (namely, the Popess, the Empress, the Emperor and the Pope itself), later turning into the Moors, a typical feature of the Tarocchino, as explained in page II.
Mitelli's sixth allegory features a blindfolded Cupid with his bow and arrows, holding a flaming heart. The absence of the well-known loving couple shows well how the name of this subject in Bologna was still Love (i.e. not the Lovers), as it used to be in the nearby Ferrara and, more in general, in all the earliest tarots.
Also the twelfth card of the set takes us back to the origins of the tarot. In fact, the old winged man helping his faltering pace with crouches is an allegory of Time, also known as the Old Man, which in tarots belonging to Dummett's group C (i.e. Marseille and others) was replaced with the Hermit, probably around
the 16th century. Mitelli's graphic interpretation blends the two original names. |
Time, or the Old Man |
In modern editions of the tarot of Bologna,
Time never really turned into a "hermit", except for its name: the allegory still featured today is that of an old man with wings on his back, in front of a column, although the subject is now double-headed, and bears number 11.
the Traitor |
Fortitude is featured as a female figure embracing a column, in this
differing from the corresponding allegory of the tarot of Marseille, usually portrayed in the attitude of opening
the jaws of a lion.
Death and the Devil, instead, are not very different from the
illustrations found in standard editions of tarots from Bologna and Ferrara.
The following subject (left) is probably the most famous and peculiar of the whole set.
In Bologna's tarot, the thirteenth trump features the Traitor, which corresponds to
the Hanged Man of the tarot of Marseille.
Mitelli chose to depict the subject as a man on the point of slaying from the back a second sleeping figure with a large hammer. Since the 15th century, the tarots used in north-eastern Italy (not only in Bologna, but in Ferrara and Venice too, i.e. the eastern group, or Dummett's B pattern) used to include the Traitor among their trumps. |
Whether the more common subject known as
the Hanged Man sprang as a variant of the aforesaid allegory - in some cultures, traitors and debtors were hung head down as a form of
punishment - has often been a matter of debate, although in the relevant tarot pattern groups they undoubtly represent the same trump. In modern editions of the tarot of Bologna this personage is now featured as a man hung by one leg, but its popular local name remains
the Traitor.
Lightning |
In most tarots, the sixteenth trump is the Tower,
whose subject is a reinterpretation of an older one, called Fire, or Lightning; the well-known allegory
of a tower stricken from the sky and catching fire is clearly related to the obsolete trump.
In Mitelli's deck, this subject is still Lightning, which does not strike a
building, nor a tree (as in the French Vieville's Tarot variant), but a human figure, who
reacts to the thunderbolt by lifting his cloak as a shelter. Therefore, this subject was probably still alive in
17th century Bologna, although in modern tarots the name of this trump has changed into a standardized the Tower. |
the Star |
The seventeenth trump,
the Star (above right), features a traveller, or maybe a tramp, walking
at night-time under a starry sky, and lighting his way with a lamp (similar to the one usually
carried by
the Hermit). In the uncoloured version of the deck, the real subject of the trump, i.e. the six-pointed star above the man, is barely noticed in the background, whereas in the painted version the same detail may have been more visible, on the dark colour of the nightly sky (see an example in
Tom Tadfor Little's pages).
the Moon |
For the next card of the set, the Moon, Mitelli sought inspiration in classic
mythology: goddess Diana, who is traditionally related to this heavely body (the hound and arrow are her other typical attributes), is here depicted in the attitude of turning her eyes to the small crescent above her head.
Also the nineteenth trump, the Sun, is based on a similar scheme: a small blazing sun spreads its rays from behind the head of god Apollo, who holds a lyre.
In the Star, the Moon and the Sun, once again the allegory catches the observer's eye much more than the main subject of the trump does.
The last two illustrations of the set, Judgement and the World, respectively feature a flying angel with a trumpet - the name of this subject in modern tarots of Bologna has remained the Angel - and Samson bearing the world on his shoulders. Strong analogies with these allegories can be found in the Minchiate and in Sicily's regional tarot (see page II). |
THE SUIT CARDS
The signs used in this tarot are the classic Italian ones (Coins, Cups, Batons and Swords), but
Mitelli wanted also suit cards to look rather fancy.
ace of Batons |
In the Coins suit, grotesque heads decorate the pips in each of the six cards (the tarot of Bologna has number cards from 6 to 10, and an ace or 1); court personages, instead, hold full bags
of coins, which allude to the suit sign.
In Cups, each card features vessels with different shapes. The Cavalier of this suit is
shown exactly from the back, a rather bizarre standpoint.
In Batons and Swords, the pips are arranged in a peculiar fashion, and the
wealth of additional decorations makes them look even more attractive. The Swords pips also
change shape from subject to subject (i.e. sabres, scimitars, etc.). The aces of these two suits
carry a Latin motto, never found in ordinary editions of the tarot of Bologna, which respectively reads: "[it is] hard [to pursue] virtue"
and "guardian of custody". |
ace of Swords |
7 of Coins, cavalier of Cups, 10 of Swords and 8 of Batons
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Giuseppe Maria Mitelli (1634-1718) is especially known for his many tables inspired by
popular subjects. Most of his etchings are witty caricatures, often with a touch of humor. Among his best
known works is a collection of illustrated proverbs, dating to the late 17th century.
Despite the popular taste of his works, Mitelli's artistic skills were
excellent. Besides the Tarocchino and the proverbs, he also engraved a
series named Alfabeto in Sogno ("Alphabet in a Dream",
1683; see a sample), in which letters made of human bodies are
surrounded by detailed studies of the eyes, the nose, etc.; this shows how the artist was
indeed confident also with more traditional forms of graphic art, although his favourite
subjects were humorous caricatures.
One of his most extravagant compositions bears the title Il mondo è per lo
più gabbia di matti ("The World Is Mostly A Cage Of Fools"); a crowd of human characters, representing
different crazes and whims, carry out their many tendencies in a gigantic bird-cage.
A further element of fancy is the title of the print, spelled with a mixture of words
and tiny illustrations, as in a picture puzzle. |
ace of Coins,
bearing the author's name |
Several other works by Mitelli also reveal the artist's particular taste for details: more than
featuring a single subject, his tables are often a collection of tiny individual elements
bound by a common theme, which could be enjoyed one by one, sometimes with the help of
a magnifying glass. Therefore, the set of subjects of the tarocchino may have represented an ideal
challenge for the artist's lively imagination.
further reference to tarot decks can be found in Trionfi and in
The Hermitage
OTHER GALLERIES
or back to
INTRODUCTION
AND HISTORY
|
MULTI-LANGUAGE
GLOSSARY |
THE FOOL &
THE JOKER |
INDEX
TABLE |
REGIONAL
GAMES |
PLAYING CARD
LINKS |
