The Art of Tarot (Tiny Folios)

By Christina Olsen

Book Overview

Originally used by northern Italian aristocrats in complex games resembling bridge, tarot cards became more popular with the spread of printing in the sixteenth century and were eventually used by Freemasons, fortune-tellers, and mystics to reveal hidden truths about the past, present, and future. More recently, artists have used the imagery and potency of tarot as a springboard for creativity.

As a path to revelation or simply as a pastime, tarot is fascinating. A carefully curated selection of decks from the past six centuries--showing the chief turning points in their development--make this little book an indispensable guide to the history of tarot.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789213060
• ISBN13: 9780789213068
• Release Date: October 2018
• Publisher: Abbeville Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 4.5"

Customer Reviews

Highly recommended!!

This is a real treasure! Small in size, but the cards are printed almost full page (appr. 2 x 3.8 inches, as on the cover). The full color reproductions of the cards are of excellent quality, equalling the quality of the real cards. Major Arcana cards from the most well-known decks from the Renaissance are shown: Brambilla (Minor Arcana), Cary-Yale Visconti, Visconti-Sforza AND the Charles VI (or Gringonneur) Deck, which I have never seen depicted before - so this alone makes the book worth buying. Some of the other decks from which Major Arcana cards are shown are: Catelin Geoffrey, Anonymous Parisian, Giuseppe Maria Mitelli, Grand Oracle des Dames, Rider Waite, Dali, Oswald Wirth, Xultun, Doerflinger (never heard of this one..), Crowley, Voyager, PoMo (Post Modern) and Cat People. Photographs of some of the tarot statues by Nicki de Saint Phalle are also included. The book begins with a 16 page introduction on the history of the Tarot. Each of the following chapters (15th century; 16th and 17th century; 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries; 20th century) is introduced with a short text, giving some background information on the decks that are shown. It is a really great buy for every Tarot lover, even if you already own Kaplan's set of encyclopedias. Come on, treat yourself, it is not even expensive!!

great to see, a focus on the 'art' of the tarot

Olsen does a wonderful job providing a glimpse of what is sometimes forgotten about the Tarot-the artwork, which is after all, the basis of the Tarot! Without it, the images on the cards would not have the fascinating ability to draw us to the Tarot in the first place. The Tarot would have likely disappeared, were it not for the dedicated artists who continued its formulation throughout generations.