barganews
The Tarot card paintings - work in progress by Keane based on the The Tarot of Marseille restored by Philippe Camoin and Alexandre Jodorowsky
Over the past thirty years I have been making images based on culture and events here in Barga, Italy – The Biroldo paintings, The Duomo of Barga paintings, The Nuns of Barga and The walls of Barga were just five of those local based projects.
Four times during those thirty years I also started to make images and work about the card players to be found in local bars playing with their fascinating sets of cards, the designs of which have remained more or less unchanged for centuries but each time I was not able to progress beyond just a few unrelated images. Somehow the project never took off — that is until I read an article which managed to tie in all the loose ends.
Barga, in it’s heyday, was a stronghold of The Medici’s Florence. Against the often fiercely independent republic of Lucca, and the Dukes of Este, or ubiquitous Visconti, it was known as Barga Fiorentina
The city was also well known during the Middle Ages for the manufacture of silk threads which were exported to major centres such as Florence.
The article mentioned Florentine silk dealers Lorenzo di Bartolo and Matteo di Zanobi, who in a side business also traded with playing cards between 1431-1460. Through the silk dealer records we know also about Florentine playing card suppliers, likely producing artists. Antonio di Dino, Antonio di Simone and Niccolo Calvello (who sold more than 3500 decks to the silk dealers) were the major suppliers till c. 1450-1456. source
So it was quite possible that during those times people were playing here in Barga with some the original Tarot or Trionfi packs of cards.
Lots of images of the paintings in progress can be seen here: http://www.barganews.com/2016/01/20/the-tarot-card-paintings/
ciao
keane
Over the past thirty years I have been making images based on culture and events here in Barga, Italy – The Biroldo paintings, The Duomo of Barga paintings, The Nuns of Barga and The walls of Barga were just five of those local based projects.
Four times during those thirty years I also started to make images and work about the card players to be found in local bars playing with their fascinating sets of cards, the designs of which have remained more or less unchanged for centuries but each time I was not able to progress beyond just a few unrelated images. Somehow the project never took off — that is until I read an article which managed to tie in all the loose ends.
Barga, in it’s heyday, was a stronghold of The Medici’s Florence. Against the often fiercely independent republic of Lucca, and the Dukes of Este, or ubiquitous Visconti, it was known as Barga Fiorentina
The city was also well known during the Middle Ages for the manufacture of silk threads which were exported to major centres such as Florence.
The article mentioned Florentine silk dealers Lorenzo di Bartolo and Matteo di Zanobi, who in a side business also traded with playing cards between 1431-1460. Through the silk dealer records we know also about Florentine playing card suppliers, likely producing artists. Antonio di Dino, Antonio di Simone and Niccolo Calvello (who sold more than 3500 decks to the silk dealers) were the major suppliers till c. 1450-1456. source
So it was quite possible that during those times people were playing here in Barga with some the original Tarot or Trionfi packs of cards.
Lots of images of the paintings in progress can be seen here: http://www.barganews.com/2016/01/20/the-tarot-card-paintings/
ciao
keane
) well done!