Pope Leo X playing cards

I just found a reference to a 1519 woodcut of Pope Leo X playing cards which is supposed to be in a translation from a German book 1980, where he is mistakenly described as playing soccer:

W. Poulet "Atlas of the History of Spectacles" vol. 2 pp. 302-03.

It's supposed to be an anti-Catholic illustration from the Medical Historical Library, University of Bern, Collection Otto Hallauer.

I can't find it on the net and am hoping that someone with access to a good library can do so.

http://books.google.com/books?id=pe... "Atlas of the History of Spectacles"&f=false

Teheuti said:

I just found a reference to a 1519 woodcut of Pope Leo X playing cards which is supposed to be in a translation from a German book 1980, where he is mistakenly described as playing soccer:

W. Poulet "Atlas of the History of Spectacles" vol. 2 pp. 302-03.

It's supposed to be an anti-Catholic illustration from the Medical Historical Library, University of Bern, Collection Otto Hallauer.

I can't find it on the net and am hoping that someone with access to a good library can do so.

http://books.google.com/books?id=pe... "Atlas of the History of Spectacles"&f=false

Click to expand...

This must be the same illustration as given in Catherine Perry Hargrave, A History of Playing Cards, p. 46. It was a popular satirical political print, appearing in at least 5 versions between 1514 and 1531.

The Pope is wearing spectacles in the earlier prints; in the last (a 1531 copy of one of 1519), the Pope stands farther away and is not using spectacles.


(From Detlef Hoffmann, "Die Anfänge im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert", Schweizer Spielkarten 1 (1998), pp. 9-134)




(This image was reproduced in Thierry Depaulis, "Un jeu de cartes du XVIe siècle : le Flux" (Le Vieux Papier, XXIX (Avril 1982)), pp. 301-311.)




(Detlef Hoffmann, loc. cit.)

Ross - Thanks for posting these pictures. It's great to see them together.

It seems a lot of people were using card-games for political/religious analogies during the early 16th century. In addition to these pictures, plus Hugh Latimer and Martin Luther, we can probably even include the card-playing paintings of Lucas van Leyden (beginning in 1508).

Anybody know the story behind these pictures?

Teheuti: It seems a lot of people were using card-games for political/religious analogies during the early 16th century. In addition to these pictures, plus Hugh Latimer and Martin Luther, we can probably even include the card-playing paintings of Lucas van Leyden (beginning in 1508).

Click to expand...

This political/religious analogy in card games reminds me of Rosannes' thoughts that the trump cards were possibly related to Good Goverment.
And there is also this thread that discusses the cards as possibly having a political/advertising function;

Artist and Patron:
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=143485&page=1&pp=10


Bee

The first I saw variously, one with 1499 as date and another with 1509 (both sources made not a very reliable impression). .

I think it is earlier than 1514 ...

The cuts are similar, but not the same. The German and the French text are NOT a translation.

Interesting is the situation of the Duc-de-Milan ...



... somehow in a bad position.

In the French version he is called

"Le duc de Milan le mure ... "
... which I would interpret in the manner, that "Lodovico il Moro" is still alive (he died 1508). I don't understand the French text good enough to be sure about it.


see letter "L"

The German text is much shorter, the word Moro is NOT indicated. The style of this engraving seems younger than the French version, similar to a style used in the later time of Maximilian.



Margarete (Maximilian's daughter) is connected to Flandern (where she returned around 1508), this is not indicated in the French text, but in the German.
So somehow, there's the impression, that the French text appeared before the German and before 1508.

In the bottom line texts of the 3 pictures we see a "Block-Spiel" mentioned ... this should be a writing error:







The German original gives a "Bockspyl", and this is a known game, which might be identical to "Flussen", which is mentioned at the other bottom-lines. "Flussen" should be predevelopment for the English "Flush" in the American Poker (for instance "Royal Flush"), and Bock-Spiel a predevelopment for "Poker" itself, with other early name forms like "bocken" or "pochen"



The Bockspyl is also theme in a 1531 picture of Woensam in Cologne (see the title: The new Bockspiel nach gestalt der welt ...) ...



Other works of Woensam who also made a few playing cards:
http://www.zeno.org/Kunstwerke/A/Woensam,+Anton

... which reflects the political situation of this time (fight against the Osmans with the defense of Vienna in 1529). Observe "Römischer Keyser" (= Charles V. : upper left corner) and "Türckischer Keyser" (= Sultan of the Osman: upper right corner)

"Bock" means in German language also "he-goat", for this reason the two fighting he-goats at the top of the picture between the emperors with the line "Bock stoß mich nit".

********

It's interesting, that in the 3rd picture of Ross, which with stronger variations follows the both others with a replacement of Maximilian with Charles V. the figure of the duke of Milan has been modified to the Fool:



In the later Woensam-picture, which took the Bockspyl-idea, but modified a lot more, we again find the Fool at the bottom line:

For the date of the Swiss image, Depaulis (in the article cited in my post) relies on a paper by Peter Kopp, "'Flüsslis'. Vom politischen Kartenspiel der Mächte zum Trinkspiel der Muotataler", Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, vol. 35 (1978), pp. 101-107.

Depaulis writes (my translation): "Thanks to a pertinent and detailed analysis of the characters and the historical context, Peter Kopp dates the Swiss print to 1514. Its French version appears certainly contemporary, to within a few years. The date of 1499, generally given until now, no longer stands."

I haven't seen Kopp's article, but it seems he didn't know of the French version, calling the Duke of Milan, "le more" (the Moor, Ludovico's nickname). Depaulis doesn't note this detail either. So it could be that the French print is indeed earlier, to within Ludovico's lifetime. Given the title "The Reverse of the Swiss Game" (or "The Other Side of the Swiss Game"), maybe it refers to the events at Novara, in April 1500.

I've made an identification, but got problems with two persons. One is Würtemberg, the other "seignerie ban iaque" or similar, whatever this is (I've problems to identify the relating letters).
The German picture has at this place "seignerie ban iaque" Jacob Triwulsch, which is clearly Gian Giacomo Trivulzio. So the above "iaque" might also mean Trivulzio.

Actually I'd the idea (not careful enough), that the central person would be the emperor, but it is Venice. So Switzerland, Venice and France still sit at the table, and the duke of Milan has lost his cards. The rest of the persons are "Kiebitze".
Politically this fits (inclusive the participation of Trivulzio) with the situation of 1499/1500, likely better with short after April 1500 (when Ludovico was definitely captured).
Surprising is Margerete, but considering the situation of 1500, then Margarete is at the wedding market (after two other marriages, from which one didn't become one (with Charles VIII, French king) and another, where the husband died very quickly (Spanish heir) and looking for a husband in 1499/1500.
The choice (later in 1501 realized) will become the duke of Savoy, who at the picture is "already looking" to the direction of Margarete from some distance.

Ludovico Sforza had become widower in 1497, had he had been a possible wedding candidate for Margarete? After it turned out, that Milan became lost, this idea was gone.

The whole picture might have been intended to center the question of Magarete's decision ... she is the last person in the text row. The three important players at the table are noted as first - this at least is not without meaning.

Well, I would assume 1499/1500 for the original woodcut.

The BnF page for this image
http://expositions.bnf.fr/jeux/grand/127.htm
agrees with the current consensus date of 1514-1515, assigning it "the context of the Battle of Marignan". It identifies the Pope as Leo X, "whose myopia and eyeglasses were well known."

That seems to be an important point in favor of their (Kopp-Depaulis) date. If 1500, it has to be Alexander VI - is he known to have used eyeglasses?

But what about the Duke of Milan "le more"?

I guess the far left has the letter h, so he is the Duke of Würtemberg; for the letter K, the text has indeed "iehan jaques" (jean jacques = gian giacomo). I think he is the one at the top center, with the siren on his chest, that you have called "Savoy".

Longtemps tenue pour la plus ancienne caricature, cette xylographie à thème très politique paraît se situer en 1514 ou 1515, dans le contexte de la bataille de Marignan. Nettement anti-suisse, la gravure est copiée sur un modèle germanique, peut-être suisse, raillant la politique européenne des grands et les arrangements passés entre eux. On y distingue, autour de la table, le roi de France Louis XII, le pape Léon X, dont la myopie et le lorgnon étaient bien connus, l'empereur Maximilien Ier et d'autres souverains des années 1513 à 1515.
L'estampe française annonce clairement son intention non seulement par son titre, mais aussi par le préambule : "C'est grand orgueil à un pauvre coquin / Vouloir jouer contre princes au flux." Ainsi, les Suisses sont de "pauvres coquins" qui veulent partager la richesse autant que le pouvoir. Cette "démocratie" avant l'heure est ainsi dénoncée comme odieuse par la propagande royale française. Sorte de poker à trois cartes, où l'on parie contre les autres sur ce que l'on a en main, le flux, un jeu de cartes venu d'Italie au XVe siècle et répandu dans toute l'Europe continentale autour de 1500, se prêtait bien à ce traitement satirique.

Click to expand...

Marignano had happened late 1515 ... Louis XII was dead then (1st of January 1515).
In the German woodcut the French king is rather optimistic, as if he had won the game. How does this fit with the situation of 1514? If they see it in context of the battle of Marignano, nobody did know in 1514, that Marignano would happen.

The graphic style of the French woodcut looks older, the graphic style of the German edition like that of the late Maximilian (a little bit like his triumphal procession). Would the French have replied a German political provocation with a not very elegant (poor) style, motre in the quality of the German Chronica from 1493? Actually the German style looks a little bit as a German reply on an earlier French provocation after the French had to leave Italy. The French king is presented "too optimistic", as everybody knew, that he had lost the game later.

I don't know, if Alexander VI had spectacles.

Trivulzio



Family Tholosano
(Tolosano da Fossano)
baroni di Valgrisanche
Valgrisanche not too far from Torino (Savoy)



Family Sereno (also in Torino)



http://xoomer.virgilio.it/blasonpiemon/Pagina8a.html
http://xoomer.virgilio.it/blasonpiemon/Pagina9.html

... .-) ... anyway, the question isn't of importance for us, if earlier or later.
Perhaps Massimiliano Sforza is addressed in the name of his father and perhaps the