About this item
- The cards of the Medieval Scapini Tarot, by Luigi Scapini, are in the European Tarot style. It's a wonderful deck with a
- very authentic Middle Ages feel and look to the card artwork.
Specifications
Name
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Medieval Scapini Tarot
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Creators
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Luigi Scapini
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Publisher
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Thorsons
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Deck Type
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Tarot Deck
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Cards
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78
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Reviews
After recreating the missing cards from the 15th
century Tarocchi decks to form the U.S. Games'
reproduction of the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, Luigi Scapini was
apparently inspired to create his own version of the Tarot in
a similar genre.
The resulting Medieval Scapini
Tarot appears to be a very
interesting blend of 15th century imagery and contemporary
artwork. The dark, gold-and-bronze colors and realistic
representations of the Visconti Sforza Tarot appear to juxtapose
in stark, yet pleasant, contrast with the vivid
colors and near-caricature additions of the artist.
It
is interesting to note that Scapini admits that,
while painting the images for this deck, he had no
knowledge of the "standard" interpretations of the
individual cards. As such, a person who reads within a given
system (such as the Rider-Waite-Smith), he or she is
likely to have some initial difficulty in maintaining
those interpretations with the symbols of this deck.
Nonetheless, Scapini manages to maintain a degree of
consistency throughout the deck and, with a little patience,
such divergence seems to be easily overcome. Indeed,
the fact that symbolic artwork is present anywhere
within the Minor Arcana may be deemed a considerable
improvement over the inspiring Visconti-Sforza cards.
Printed
on strong, plastic coated board, these cards are
somewhat longer than many decks, which make it slightly
harder to shuffle. However, when considered in contrast
with the very large and difficult to handle
Visconti-Sforza deck, the Scapini Tarot again stands in a place of
considerable advantage.
The accompanying LWB is, for this
deck, indispensable. Once the historic and artistic
inspirations of these cards are understood, they then become
infinitely easier for the new reader to utilize. Interesting
details (such as the artist’s cameo appearance as, among
other things, a severed head in the Death card) yield
considerable insights that will aid the reader in interpreting
this unique deck. In all, it is well-written and
provides the artist’s version of each card’s meanings as
well as a brief description of the Celtic Cross
spread.
In sum, the Medieval Scapini Tarot is a fascinating
deck that will stretch the interpretive repertoire of
any reader. Based on a historic Tarot, these cards
are ideal for someone who desires the feel of
antiquity combined with modern utility.
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