{"id":5763,"date":"2026-06-10T17:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/?p=5763"},"modified":"2026-07-10T23:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T23:05:06","slug":"divination-the-renaissance-and-surrealism-commingle-in-tarot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/10\/divination-the-renaissance-and-surrealism-commingle-in-tarot\/","title":{"rendered":"Divination, the Renaissance, and Surrealism Commingle in \u2018Tarot!\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Divination,<\/p>\n

When we think of tarot cards<\/a>, there’s a standout that probably pops to mind right away: the Rider-Waite-Smith<\/a> deck. It was illustrated by British occultist and artist Pamela Coleman Smith, and more than 100 years after its publication, it remains the most widely used deck by readers. But the cards are far from being the first. Later this month, The Morgan Library & Museum<\/a> presents Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions<\/em>, which delves into this centuries-old tradition of divination.<\/p>\n

The exhibition celebrates some of the earliest examples alongside modern artists’ versions. Three surviving decks from the 15th century, commissioned by the Dukes of Milan, tap into the lively Italian court culture that produced the cards, plus how the imagery evolved and laid the groundwork for fortune-telling practices.<\/p>\n

\"a
Remedios Varo, “The Other Clock (El otro reloj)” (1957), \u00a9 2026 Remedios Varo, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York \/ VEGAP, Madrid. Courtesy of Wendy Norris Gallery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A complementary display emphasizes how artists throughout the 20th century reimagined the imagery, including Smith’s iconic deck from 1909, plus iterations by Surrealists Andr\u00e9 Breton, Victor Brauner, and Remedios Varo<\/a>. The connection isn’t coincidental; Leonora Carrington<\/a> devised a gilded deck<\/a> in the 1950s, and Salvador Dal\u00ed also contributed his own version<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions<\/em><\/em> highlights how artists have turned to the practice to explore what the museum describes as “an alternative to the strictures of modernist aesthetics, allowing them to explore other universes and imaginative possibilities.” The show is accompanied by a catalog, which you can order from The Morgan’s shop<\/a>. See the exhibition from June 26 through October 4 in New York.<\/p>\n

\"a
Pamela Colman Smith, “The Chariot” from the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot (Deck \u201cC\u201d), London: William Rider & Son (c. 1921\u201331, first published in 1909), chromolithograph, 4 3\/4 \u00d7 2 3\/4 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Bonifacio Bembo, “Death” from the Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards (c. 1456-58), Milan or Cremona, Italy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Victor Brauner, “H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Smith. Siren of Knowledge \u2013 Lock (Sir\u00e8ne de Connaissance \u2013 Serrure)” (1941), graphite and colored pencil on tracing paper, 10 13\/16 \u00d7 7 1\/8 inches. Courtesy of Mus\u00e9e Cantini, \u00a9 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York \/ ADAGP, Paris. Image \u00a9 RMN-Grand Palais \/ Art Resource, NY. Photo by Jean Bernard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Roberto Matta, “The Chariot (Le Chariot)” from ‘Arcane 17’ (1944), lithographic proofs, approximately 7 1\/2 \u00d7 3 inches chea. Courtesy of Biblioth\u00e8que litt\u00e9raire Jacques Doucet, \u00a9 2026 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York \/ ADAGP, Paris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Bonifacio Bembo, “The Juggler” from the Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards (c. 1456-58), Milan or Cremona, Italy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Pamela Colman Smith, “Sketch for Glass” (1908), watercolor and ink on paper, 14 1\/4 \u00d7 9 inches. Courtesy of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Bonifacio Bembo, “Time” from the Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards (c. 1456-58), Milan or Cremona, Italy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Divination, the Renaissance, and Surrealism Commingle in ‘Tarot!’<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we think of tarot cards, there’s a standout that probably pops to mind right away: the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. It was illustrated by British occultist and artist Pamela Coleman Smith, and more than 100 years after its publication, it remains the most widely used deck by readers. But the cards are far from being the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5763"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5763"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5775,"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5763\/revisions\/5775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/globuscruise.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}