Tarocchi Cards
Medium
Woodcut with pochoir in red, blue and brown
Dimensions
sheet: 12 3/16 x 9 5/8 in. (31 x 24.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
26.101.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the enchanting world of Renaissance gaming with *Tarocchi Cards*, an Italian set from around 1500. These woodcut prints, measuring about 12 x 9 inches, represent one of the earliest known examples of tarocchi— the Italian precursor to modern Tarot decks. Originally designed not for fortune-telling but as playing cards for popular games among nobility and merchants, they reflect the vibrant social life of 15th- to 16th-century Italy, artistry with leisure. Crafted via woodcut—a relief printing method where images are carved into wood blocks and inked for multiple impressions—these ca...