The Sun, plate 44 from Planets and Spheres
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 18.5 × 10.5 cm (7 5/16 × 4 3/16 in.); Plate: 18 × 10 cm (7 1/8 × 3 15/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
122271
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
These so-called tarot cards were probably used as teaching tools—pamphlets or sets of flashcards— for noblemen or students. They instilled the traditional hierarchies of society and philosophy in five ascending series: Ranks and Conditions of Men, Apollo and the Muses, Arts and Sciences, Planets and Spheres, and Genii and Virtues. Artists also reused figures from these engravings in their art. The tarrochi are sometimes found bound as books, reinforcing their educational content. The Sun, with i...
About the Artist
Master of the E-Series Tarocchi · 1460–1475
The Master of the E-Series Tarocchi was an anonymous Italian engraver active in Ferrara around 1465, during the vibrant era of the Este court. His early life and training remain undocumented, but stylistic affinities link him to artists collaborating with Francesco del Cossa on the frescoes of Palazzo Schifanoia's Salone dei Mesi. Working in the Ferrarese tradition, he produced the pioneering E-se...