Book: The Tarots according to Paolo Rovegno

Cartomancy, art ancient like the world, is a divination language based on the employment of symbolic images, able to release mechanisms and reactions of dependency with the supernatural, employed to satisfy the human need of wanting to know the future.

Every culture claims the invention of the divination art through the cartomancy, developed to the needs and according to the time, with signs, at first on tablets of clay, wood, stone or metal and subsequently on paper.

The forebears of the modern packs of Tarot cards, were anciently called "NAIBI". It is in the XV century that in Italy the first cards appear, called "TRIUMPHS", tied as a game to the vicissitudes of the Italian nobiliari courts, that accommodated the first developments and spread the tradition.

Although the rinascimentale documentation is insufficient, the more consistent indications lead to think that the greater development of miniature cards has been in the geographic areas where the Visconti and the Este families held their power.

As far as it is known, those were in fact expensive works of art painted by hand by worthy painters and/or masters of the miniature, mainly in the cities of Cremona and Ferrara, respectively in the workshops of 'Bonifacio Bembo' in Cremona, 'Lazzaro Cagnolo' and 'Gerardo da Vicenza' in Ferrara.

For their beauty and refined elegance, they could serve as cue for the reflection of the relationship between the temporal sphere and spiritual one or the mystery of several prophecies contained in John's Apocalypse.

In the medioeval period, the emerging of esoterism as it develops mysterious symbolisms, of archaic origin, leads the development of these packs of cards from initially simple gaming uses to divination ones.

Thus the “Major Tarots” had born, made up by 22 cards loaded with symbolic meanings, of obscure interpretation, and thus able to develop a manichaeistic divination: the good and the bad on opposite sides.

The development and spread of use of these cards lead in time to a multiplication of different packs of cards, as a demonstration that the man has always the need to dream, to hope, to survive.

The realization of this pack of “Major Tarots” cards is due to the interest of 22 ex libris collectors and lovers of graphic arts.

 

Paolo Rovegno, ex libris for Giorgio Frigo


Paolo Rovegno, ex libris for Pierlorenzo Gianella


Paolo Rovegno, ex libris for Silvio Forni


Paolo Rovegno, ex libris for Dante Fangaresi

Paolo Rovegno, ex libris for Adriano Benzi


Paolo Rovegno, ex libris for Nicola Carlone

This book contains the complete series of images that make up the "Tarots" pack of cards, designed by Paolo Rovegno.

Artist etched every ex libris, on copper or brass sheets, with the C3 or C5 techniques; later he printed them with the manual printing press, on “Magnani da Pescia” paper, in 22 pieces with Roman numeration.
Artist then water-coloured them, and later applied gold and silver inserts.

Every Tarot card has a number and a purchaser, as follows:

0 - THE FOOL - Il matto - GIORGIO FRIGO
1 - THE MAGICIAN - Il bagatto - PIERLORENZO GIANELLA
2 - THE HIGH PRIESTESS - La papessa - SILVIO FORNI
3 - THE EMPRESS - L'imperatrice - DANTE FANGARESI
4 - THE EMPEROR - L'imperatore - PAOLO ROVEGNO
5 - THE HIEROPHANT - Il papa - ENZO PELLAI
6 - THE LOVERS - Gli amanti - PATRIZIA BELLANI
7 - THE CHARIOT - Il carro - MAURO MAINARDI
8 - STRENGHT - La forza - LIDIA PIANA
9 - THE HERMIT - L'eremita GIUSEPPE CAPASSO
10 - WEEL OF FORTUNE - La ruota della Fortuna - ADRIANO BENZI
11 - JUSTICE - La giustizia - ALOYS VERTONGEN
12 - THE HANGED MAN - L'appeso - GORDON P. SMITH
13 - DEATH - La morte - MURRAY ROSEN
14 - TEMPERANCE - La temperanza - ROSE THEUNIS
15 - THE DEVIL - Il diavolo - LODEWIJK DEURINCK
16 - THE TOWER - La torre - SPARTACO CADIOLI
17 - THE STAR - La stella - BARBARA ROVEGNO
18 - THE MOON - La luna - ANITA THYS
19 - THE SUN - Il sole - ANGELO ROVEGNO
20 - JUDGMENT - Il giudizio - FRANCESCO DEL SOLE
21 - THE WORLD - Il mondo - NICOLA CARLONE

The book has been printed in limited edition. It's been sold out.

To learn more:
Official website of Paolo Rovegno;
link page, Rovegno is listed in alphabetical order.