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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A theatrical modern interpretation of mediaeval decks..., 30 Dec 2002
Scapini is a contemporary artist. For this deck he has drawn his inspiration from the very earliest surviving Tarot decks, and as such anyone familiar with those decks (in particular the Visconti reproductions) will find the major arcana very familiar territory... Even a cursory inspection of the cards should give the game away to anyone with a basic knowledge of Tarot - for example the High Priestess is depicted holding a book, and on the cover of said book is the glyph of the Kabbalistic tree of life. The other thing is that nobody really bothered to illustrate the minor arcana before A E Waite came along, but hey, this deck is about far more than accurate historical interpretation...The artist's sense of humour isn't immediately apparent, it is very subtly tongue-in-cheek, but it adds so much to the richness of the imagery. Looking through the cards you will find hundreds of tiny little figures-in-corners, small sailing boats, miniature cats etc. tucked away within the main pictures. His playful use of images is ideal for this setting, and has been done so artfully that it does not distract when doing readings. The scenes in the minor arcana cards include drunken sailors, lovelorn would-be romeos, stern-looking teacher figures, all bedecked in dramatic costumes giving the whole deck a very theatrical feel. I love this deck. It looks beautiful and reads smoothly, and is a deck I use time and time again. It's a fantastic poke-in-the-eye for those poe-faced-purists who won't touch anything unless it's 500 years old, and is ideal for both beginners and, ahem, serious practitioners alike.
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