The 'Well Heeled' Soprafino Pattern

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/soprafino/

I love this pattern, in fact I prefer it to earlier woodblock decks, as I like the engraved look.
The engravings were commissioned by Printer Gummpenberg to engraver Carlo Dellarocco from Milan.
I was looking through my notes about this deck.
Here are a few bits and Pieces that may have some import to why the difference in the decks as against the Tdm patterns.

Firstly I wonder if Carlo Dellarocco had Masonic connections? Like the Grand Orient of Italy?

Gummpenberg was trained in Germany where copper engraving was used and the superfine style was prevalent. He went to Milan in 1809. At this time the King of Italy and Viceroy of Italy was a man called Eugene Rose de Beauharnais. The l'Imperatore image looks exceedingly like him. He was Napoleon's stepson. No longer was there a Holy Roman Emperor who last was Francis II deposed by Napoleon in 1800.
The baldachino behind the Empress is very similiar to the French coat of arms of de Beauharnais, including the eagle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Grand_coat_of_arms_of_Eugène_de_Beauharnais.svg
Apart from the Il Bagattel who is a cobbler (which really was not the name of someone who made shoes, but fixed them) The heel of Fortune has some symbols that are very like the documents of the Grand Orient of Italy. This Masonic order was firstly of France, and makes one think of the fox gobbling up the coins on the wheel.
Here is a certificate from the Grand Orient of France? Enlarge it and see the symbols like the smoke filled urn etc.
Anyway, I think there is lots to talk about.
I have several editions, but because it is clearest I am using the Classic Tarot.
Looking forward to other insights.
~Rosanne

Oops in the wrong forum.

Whilst I did not realise, there are other threads dedicated to this pattern- I inadvertently put this one in the wrong forum.
I particularly want to discuss the times between 1800- 1835 'ish, that may well have influenced this popular departure from the Tdm pattern.
I have loved the other threads.
The recent ones are...
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=24103&highlight=Soprafino

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=157484&highlight=Soprafino

Not sure now whether this thread is therefore redundent, but have asked a moderator to shift it to the right forum.
~Rosanne

OK Thread in right forum-Thanks Sulis!

At the time this pattern as developed in Milan, politically Milan was part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. It was a puppet government controlled in two distinct parts. Both parts were an Absolute Monarchy. In 1804 Bonaparte became Emperor and his stepson was Viceroy in Milan. In Italy the Tarot cards were French inspired, and the suits were unrelated to Italian cards (Hearts/diamonds etc). The printer Gummpenberg had tried to be successful with this Tarot, but it did not go well and his success came with commisioning an Italian suited deck, using copper engraving.
At the same time Art was moving away from works exclusivley for ecclesiastic and wealthy Nobility, Generals and Soldiers, toward the general population or the 'bourgeoisie'. There was also patriotic feelings- Buy Italian- not French. So there was a sort of Death of Art, that is -Academy and Church influenced art. I can see this reflected in the Soprafino Death card. The artist could have his own take on subjects. All he had to do as far as Tarot was concerned was follow a traditional sequence. Hence there seems no relationship between the title Il Bagattel and a maker of shoes.This is a Merchant, his true name should have been 'il calzolaio' (A cordwainer/ cordovan) The word is derived from "cordwain", or "cordovan", the red leather produced in Córdoba, Spain. A cobbler comes from cobbling things poorly together.
So if you were to put things together in a traditional way The Fool who does not look like a madman or lunatic (matto) seems poor because of all the taxes he had to pay. The Monarchy, The State, The Church, The Merchant are all taking money. I read somewhere that in the 1800's the working man/farmer was paying the equivalent of a gram of gold, or 40% of his wages for war debt. When we say "the shirt off his back" could almost apply to the 'shoes on his feet'.
~Rosanne

The Wheel of Fortune seems a particularly political statement.
The figure at the top of the wheel looks like a combination of Jupiter with a lightening bolt, and and Fortuna. The Cornucopia is a symbol of fruitfulness and happiness and in the card is spilling towards the Fox. Instead of Fruit, it is spilling coins, spearhead and Scepter.
Jupiter's goat, whose Horn was broken was promised fruit forever. It originally depicted as plenty - coming from the sky in the form of rain. Jupiter was a Sky God for the Romans, and he was often attributed on the Cosmic Wheel. The Vase on the left appears to be Etruscan and the fire within is smoking all over Jupiter and although hard to decipher I think may allude to War.
That theme of war, seems to appear on the Lover's card. The groom? is half dressed as a soldier, but in the bottom half as a Courtier. A King has his hand on his shoulder. I am not sure if the King is holding the groom back from love or supporting him to marry. On the Chariot card, the wreath of Victory lies on the ground in front of the Chariot. There is a strong astrological symbol on the Chariot- the Ram or Aries and the vernal equinox. It is also like a battering Ram of the conquering armies.
Il Papa is nothing like any Pope I know. Nor is his audience. I wonder if that is Dellarocca looking back at us, the cardholder. I am not sure what this engraving is conveying. It tickles me that it might be something to do with the Letter G of Freemasonry. Grand Architect of the Universe? A Tyrian King?
I love an historical mystery lol.
~Rosanne

Hi Rosanne,

You bring a good point here: the theme of war in Soprafino.

I see it occurring in these four cards:
L'Imperatore, Il Papa, Gli Amanti, and Il Carro. If you put them down, going from right to left you see the theme occurring: the heads of state and religion calling on a war, the people fighting their war, and the kings and heads of army parading victoriously after a winning battle or war. And you can also see this theme in the Swords Valet, Knight, and King.

In Il Carro is clear that the Roman Empire is claiming Victory, with the ram's head between the horses is in front of the ancient Roman soldier, replicating the image of the general, or king charioter.

I was looking closely to Gli Amanti yesterday and I read it as forced choice. The soldier with his sword looks forlorn, and it seems he is saying goodbye to his love as he holds her hand, and the king with his hand on the right shoulder of his soldier, seems to call him to action, to go out and fight for his country. There is a sad and uncertain feel in this card; the sadness of leaving a loved one to fulfill the country's duty, and the almost certainty of not returning. The cupid with a blind fold that is not quite on his eyes, point the arrow to the lady's heart, she will be left alive to mourn the departure of her lover, and her hand over her heart seems to speak of her sorrow for this forced separation.

Where do you see a letter G in Il Papa? is it in his belly? That's what it looks like to me, but was it an intentional marking or just the effect of shadowing?

Hi Lumen!,
you have nailed Gli amanti! yes forced choice.
To the Il Papa card. I am not sure if the shadowing on the belly was intentional, but a G seems to be there. It is not that, that drew my thoughts. 'G' does not appear to have a definite explanation of the prominent use of this symbol in Freemasonry-God or geometry. I do know that 'G' is equal to the number three in Freemasonry. The card seems to have a three-ness about it. Three tiers on the Tiara, three bars on the crosier, three distinct crosses on the Palium, three heads facing the Pope?.
The tonsure on the two men, makes their dress absurd, as does the hairstyles. The Pope is bearded. Popes do not wear Gold vestments, with figures embroidered. Maybe it is supposed to be a conglomerate of Pope-ish type Spiritual leaders ( a mix of all faiths kind of) I think he is Hiram the King of Tyre who assisted in the building of the temple.
Maybe.
Dellarocca would have known exactly how a Pope would look. He would not look like that even with artistic licence.
~Rosanne

There is some interesting things happening in Europe, in Italy in particular at the time of this decks publication. I am more than positive, that these events influenced the cards.
Other threads on the subject have given info about the printer Ferdinado Gumppenberg, who was apprenticed to the Fabbicante of Monaco in 1805 and appears to be be married when he was 32 years old.

What has not been mentioned is the climate of Milan when he arrived to set up Business.
During the Napoleonic era Italy was a client state 1796-1814. When the printer arrived in Milan in 1809 Napoleon occupied Rome, despatched the Pope to Savona and thence on to France. Napoleon took the papal state's art collections back to the Louvre. Two years later Napoleon wanted conquest of Russia and as many Italians died in his campaigns, the Italians aligned themselves with Austria. Austria had a much freer adminstation policy and the taxes for Napoleon's Wars were reduced. Italy's restoration period 1815-1835 involved many popular uprisings and led to the Italian Wars of Independance, a new Kingdom of Italy and finally unification. At the same time this was the Age of Enlightenment as we call it now.

Enlightenment was a desire for human affairs to be guided by rationality rather than by faith, superstition, or revelation; a belief in the power of human reason to change society and liberate the individual from the restraints of custom or arbitrary authority; all backed up by a world view increasingly validated by science rather than by religion or tradition.

Click to expand...

Wikipedia

Part of that Enlightenment was the gossip and rumour and scandel about society. Journalist and occultists like Victor Hugo for example were anticleric and constantly bought scandel to the public eye. It of course was biased. It was often based on events, and then put into cards, from then became folk -lore. The Bubble cards in 18th Century about financial crisis in the South Seas, The lampooning of politicians, and Religion were all fair game. Victor Hugo wrote a very popular play about Lucrezia Borgia,1833? that was made into an Opera, based on her poisoning of Lovers and her strange relationship with her father the Pope Alexander V1, at the time the Soprafino pattern was produced.
To add to this there were two distinct customers to purchase Tarot. There was the gambling public who had long forgotten the text of the image. When for example Tarot became involved in gambling it became an activity of an economic type. It stopped been 'play' and became 'work' The card becomes not what it was, but a 'need' in the process of 'work'. It is like the 'Job of Poker playing'. Everything has to be standard and conservative, easily recognised. Any auxilory information of the image is not needed. It is a format for work. There was also this other public. Cards, especially Tarot had long been known in popular knowledge, in folk wisdom, as a perpetual Almanac,(including astrology in the almanac) as a device for prediction, and an esoteric sequence especially in the 19th century.
So the Soprafino pattern covers all the bases and it is no wonder the pattern became very popular.
I particularly want to look at the folk -lore associated with the Soprafino, as my great grandfather was a Freemason, and he had a Soprafino deck here in NZ towards the end of the 19th Century.
~Rosanne