Death from the Cary-Yale Visconti-Sforza Tarot Deck

Lady Korrin Valravn mka Korrin Villman This painting is fashioned after the Cary-Yale Visconti-Sforza “Death” tarot card, adjusted from the original 3.54331” x 7.48031” for the dimensions of this competition (2.5” x 3.5”).

Exemplar Title: Visconti Tarot: Death: pictured right (Bonifacio) Creator: Bembo, Bonifacio, fl. 1447-1478, d. bef. 1482 Published / Created: 1428-1447 Publication Place: Milan, Italy Description: Also known as the Cary-Yale pack Dimensions: 9 x 19 cm, or 3.54331” x 7.48031” Link: https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/2002934 Call Number: ITA 109 Finding Aid: http://carycards.beinecke.library.yale.edu/ Attribution: Yale University Library

Tools & Materials

Egg glair mixed with Winsor & Newton Gouache I chose to use glair mixed with gouache because the original appears to have been built up using layers of paint, which indicates that it was not created with gouache alone. This layering effect is best seen on the horse and saddle. The glair adds a transparency to the paint and allows the paint to be built in thin layers, as shown on the torso of the skeleton. You can also see that the paint in the extant card was applied in small lines called hatching. The horse and saddle areas are excellent examples of the use of hatching. To create my glair, I followed Cennini’s recipe by whipping egg whites into stiff peaks and allowing it to seep for several hours, then using the separated liquid as a pigment binder (Cennini 79).

Parchment (gift of Laurel Faye de Trees) I have not been able to find the substrate used on the cards, though it is possible it could have been laid paper. I decided to use stretched parchment because I enjoy working on stretched parchment. Also, the substrate and materials were left open for the competition, and I took full advantage of this flexibility..

23k gold leaf Because the background of this card was originally gilded (as many of the other Major Arcana were in this deck), I decided to do the same. I have been wanting to try my hand at impressing patterns into gold for a while. This was the perfect opportunity.

Instacol, though it was covered with gesso I originally was going to ground the gold with instacol, but I realized that it would not take the impressions. Using gesso instead seemed like the perfect solution.

Gesso My gesso recipe was given to me by Maestra Livia Zanna: slaked plaster, hide glue, and honey. To color the gesso, I initially used Dragon’s Blood powdered pigment gifted to me by Master Eldred Aelfwald, but it wasn’t quite opaque enough (as reds often aren’t) and I would have had to have used way more of it that I was willing. As a result, I added Reeves Gouache on round two for additional pigmentation. This proved to not quite be sticky enough to grab all of the gold, or winter in Maryland is just too dry. Next time I mix this, I will have to add more honey or figure out a way to get more ambient moisture. The extant gilding ground was very clearly a red hue, which is why I went with this pigmentation.

Noodler’s Bulletproof Black ink I chose this ink because it is archival, and flows well off of my pen. Period inks are beautiful, but I am always afraid of the fact that they are not archival. I thus traded complete period-authenticity, in favor of archival ink.

Neuberg-Ebel Extra Brilliant Rich Pale Gold #9 powdered mica. I mixed this with glair to touch up some of my gold in areas that the gesso was showing through the gold leaf.

Video: Process Documentation

https://youtu.be/4Ys7CINaYmo

Works Cited Bembo, Bonifacio, fl. 1447-1478, d. bef. 1482. Visconti Tarot. 1428-1447. https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/2002934. Cennini, Cennino D'Andrea, and Daniel V. Thompson. The Craftsman's Handbook “Il Libro Dell'Arte”. Dover, 1933.

Process Images

Exemplar

(Bonifacio)