Who starts in the arts of tarot soon will discover that there are almost countless different mallets. (Not to be confused with Coen brothers!). Throughout the centuries, the tarot and its complex symbolic system have exerted an irresistible attraction on the scholars of hidden them. But also, on the sensitivity of the artists. That is why it is possible to find tarot decks that blend ancient Egyptian wisdom with elements of other doctrines. And beautifully illustrated decks that express the fascination of artists with the symbolic richness of the arcana of the tarot. A case that blends both slopes is the now famous harness tarot of Aleister Crowley.
As admired as discussed, the famous British magician created its own version of the tarot by joining elements collected in his long years of study of the occult arts. And in turn, her friend Frieda Harris was commissioned illustrate it with beautiful images of abstract character, full of fantasy and detail. Yury Shakov, Russian miniaturist (1937-1989), based on the tarot to translate his most ambitious work. Your beautiful deck, known as Russian Tarot of St. Petersburg, overflows the color and finesse characteristic of the traditional art of his country.
Shakov made the illustrations with tempera, to the exact extent that letters would have. His work was so precise and thorough that it is not known the exact number of years that sued him to complete it. Retailer to the end, Shakov came to use a single hair brushes to finish some details. The result is a deck of tarot of unique beauty, colorful, and serenity. The Ukiyo-e of enormous expressive force and boundless sensuality style, predominated at the Japanese school of engraving between the 17TH and 20th centuries. Emerged as a vital reaction to the painful cycle of death and rebirth proposed by the Buddhist religion, these prints reflected lush landscapes and scenes of alcove. Since then, numerous artists, Japanese but also Western, have seen in this style perfect vitality and richness to illustrate the arcana of tarot. Some of most well known tarot decks inspired by this school are tarot Koji Furuta of Ukiyo-e, released in 1982, and Marvin Lawson, 2006. Although the work Summit of an artist inspired by the tarot is possibly the embodied in the harness of tarot Visconti Sforza, hand painted in Venice during imprecise sometime in the 15th century. And although his name has been lost in the darkness of history, the author of these wonderful images with details in gold leaf has certainly managed to transcend time.