The Morgan Library & Museum's new exhibition, Tarot!, explores the transformation of tarot cards from a Renaissance pastime to a modern tool for divination and artistic inspiration. The show, which runs until 4 October, charts the cards' evolution from 15th-century Italy through to the present day, featuring both historic decks and new works by contemporary artists.
Origins as a card game
According to Claire Gilman, curator of the show's Modern Visions section, tarot originated in 15th-century Italy not as a tool for divination, but simply as a card game. It was only as it moved into France in the 18th century that it began to take on occult connotations, and from there it migrated to the UK and eventually spread around the globe in the 20th century.
The oldest surviving deck, the Visconti-Sforza, created for the ruling family of Milan around 1450-1480, is a highlight of the exhibition. The Morgan's partial collection has been combined with that held by the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Italy, offering a rare chance to see a sizable chunk of this hand-painted luxury object. Joshua O'Driscoll, co-curator of the Renaissance Symbols section, noted: "They're hand-painted luxury objects and they stand at the very beginning of the tarot pictorial tradition."
Continuity and change
Despite being nearly 600 years old, the Renaissance decks are recognizable to anyone familiar with modern tarot imagery. "This is one of the things that I find most surprising," said O'Driscoll. "Despite being nearly 600 years old, the Renaissance decks at the core of the show will be recognizable to anyone familiar with tarot imagery."
Gilman believes the tarot's ability to be at once old and new is key to its enduring popularity. "One of the amazing things about the tarot is that there is so much continuity, but there is also a tremendous amount of change and transformation. It has these established characters, but there's also this openness being built into it."
The Rider-Waite-Smith revolution
The Rider-Waite-Smith deck, introduced in 1909 and by far the most widely used deck in the world, marked a major turning point. Its illustrator, Pamela Colman Smith, was given free rein to pour her imagination into the minor arcana, drawing on sources such as the Bible, her friends, the Art-Nouveau movement and contemporary British society. The deck's key innovation was illustrating the minor arcana, which had seldom been given their own imagery. Gilman said: "It really enhances the mystery built into these cards, and also the accessibility, because you could look at these cards and write this story into every single one. It really democratizes the cards and captures people's fascination with them."
Modern and contemporary decks
Later decks include Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot, which was not mass-produced in his lifetime, and David Palladini's Aquarian Deck, which brings an Art Deco sensibility to medieval iconography. These took off in the 1960s and 70s, but the number published then was limited compared to today. "There's absolutely no comparison. There's hundreds and hundreds," Gilman said.
The exhibition also features tarot-themed works by artists such as Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, and British painter Chris Ofili. Among the most intriguing collections is the British surrealist Ithell Colquhoun's deck, described by Gilman as the first fully abstract deck. "It's called 'Tarot as Color' and each of the suits is assigned a hue. It's just a really gorgeous deck."
Tarot's universal appeal
Gilman sees in tarot a kind of universal language that can transcend cultural barriers. "The arcana are so universal, the world, justice, temperance, lovers – these are all things that occur in every tradition, so people can relate to it, and shift it and slant it according to what those things mean in their specific community."
Searches for how to do tarot readings soared during the pandemic, and decks are proliferating at a dizzying pace. The exhibition capitalizes on this increasing popularity to lure in the curious and knowledgeable alike.
