Castelli Tarot Art Nouveau

missy

missy said:
Hi guys, :)

I seem to be looking at images of two different decks. Which one is the one to whom we are referring?

When I go to taroteca, I see this Magician:

http://taroteca.multiply.com/photos/album/16/Art_Noveau#photo=3.jpg

But when I go to AT, I see this Magician (upper lefthand card):

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/art-nouveau/index.shtml#cards

Which deck is it?

Thanks. :)

Woops! Never mind; I see it is here on taroteca:

http://taroteca.multiply.com/photos/album/205/Art_Nouveau

I thought the two were the same deck with different spelling. Apparently there are two different Art Nouveau decks on taroteca.
 

missy

I found myself getting interested in this deck, so dug out some old threads here and here and also viewed the images on taroteca.

My thoughts:

I quite love the Art Nouveau style and always have. However, there seems to be something off with some of the Majors. I'll explain in a minute.

Then I got to the Minors. Let's take the Pentacles suit, for example. To quote another thread,

Queen of Disks said:
The Majors are fine. No problem there. The Minors are practically the EXACT same half naked female figure sitting down OVER and OVER again. (I had this deck and sold it.) :mad: Unreadable, basically.

I can see what she means by the Minors!

I could also do without the repetitive drawing of the symbols in the Minors as though they are pip cards.

Initially I was quite taken with the Majors. Many of them are stunning! From The Fool to Death I like. Then I got to Temperance and there is just something not quite right with her female form. She looks like she has swelling in her ankles. :D The Devil to me looks like something out of a Batman cartoon strip, not Art Nouveau at all. The Tower is disappointing in its lack of detail. The Star for me doesn't work. Now we are at the Moon, and I love the Moon card! The rest of the Majors are good.

There is an element of modernity to some of these Art Nouveau images. It is as though someone has taken modern faces and tried to superimpose them as an Art Nouveau style. For me it doesn't work.

Examples of modern faces: All of the women in the Pentacles suit, except for the Six of Pents, which does have an Art Nouveau face. The Four of Pents actually looks a bit gothic. Some of them almost have 80s Patrick Nagel faces. They have swirling hair, etc. but the face itself has a chiseled look.

In general the style of the women's faces keeps changing in the Minors. It isn't consistent.

So although this deck at first looked appealing, at a closer glance I think I will pass. The initial take on the Majors was great and I love the idea behind the deck! Also I know some people love this deck, which is one reason I love this forum. We all enjoy different things!
 

Sinduction

I see the minors completely differently! I look at the body posture, which way she's facing, the look on her face, etc. It's a lot like reading body language, which I do in real life. There are subtle things and I almost have to put myself in her place in order to really get into the card. But I think that's nice, I like when a deck can pull me in like that!
 

Queen of Disks

It's been a while since I wrote that, and I got that deck back and am trying again to use that deck (inspired by Hunter's example.) It's like you have to read the people on the cards the same way Sinduction described for it to make any sense.


(Hey, I wrote off the Gilded at one point and now I love it. So you never know.)
 

Ambrosia

Sinduction said:
I see the minors completely differently! I look at the body posture, which way she's facing, the look on her face, etc. It's a lot like reading body language, which I do in real life. There are subtle things and I almost have to put myself in her place in order to really get into the card. But I think that's nice, I like when a deck can pull me in like that!

I completely agree.
Rather than reading the traditional symbolism we are used to in most other decks, we have to read the subtle symbolism of body language. I find it quite challenging but at the same time, a breath of fresh air.
 

karenquilter

If you like the Art Nouveau style, but can't quite get into this deck, you might try the Fenestra Tarot. It has some lovely artwork.
K
 

Briar Rose

Just a couple of months ago, I got the full-sized Art Nouveau in a trade. It came with a beautiful light purple bag with white embroidery.

I like the deck. I am hoping to find it useful in helping me with a figure drawing class because the figures are so expressive. And there are lots of drapes that willbe great for learning shading when drawing material.

The deck has that feminine clean and pistine look to it. It is colorful, and very busy. I have to *LOOK* at the cards and see what is going on inside them. It looks too busy for a mini deck. But I know some people here don't mind mini's. It would make a cute mini.

And yes, I strongly agree that it's a challenge.