Tarot History Forum

Magic Moon wrote: 17 Jun 2025, 01:08 ....
The year 1453 is considered a bad year for the Visvonti Sforza deck because Venice had been hostile to Milan since 1452, in the spring if I recall correctly. Then we have 1451-1452 or 1456-1458. I don't know what reason there is to rule out 1450 but I suppose that the war was very recent and there was no time to have the deck on the day of Francesco Sforza's triumphal parade entering Milan.

http://trionfi.com/etx-sigismondo-pandolfo-malatesta

1450 was a Jubelee year, much tourism of pilgrims. Milan had a heavy plague year.

Magic Moon wrote,

As for the Venetian lion on the King of Swords' shield, I think it reflects that Francesco had been an important military figure in Venice. That card could have been painted that way even if the deck wasn't created for someone from Venice, but I understand it may strengthen Venice's argument. I don't know what to think anymore. Thanks for considering the suggestion.

Another argument against the deck's being made for William VIII of Montferrat comes from looking at his biography on Wikipedia. It says:

In 1449, William was accused of treachery and imprisoned by Francesco Sforza. The reason was said to because he had formed an attachment to Sforza's wife Bianca Maria Visconti.[2] He was released a year later. Angry over his treatment by Sforza, William encouraged his brother John IV of Montferrat and relative Louis of Savoy to make war on Sforza (and Milan), and then he himself would lead the troops in battle. This attempt failed.

It adds:

William later became a tutor to the couple's son Galeazzo Maria. Following his assassination, William held several positions in the Duchy of Milan.

About Elisabetta Maria, Italian Wikipedia says:

Fu destinata a sposare, dal fratello Galeazzo, Guglielmo VIII Paleologo, Marchese di Monferrato (1420-1484), già vedovo di Maria di Foix.

He was destined to be married by her brother Galeazzo, to Guglielmo VIII Paleologo, Marchese di Monferrato (1420-1484), already widower of Maria di Foix.

This "destiny" was then opposed by their mother Bianca Maria. It was surely due to Galeazzo Maria that Elisabetta first became engaged and then married to William, after the death of their father.

I had thought that perhaps the six added cards were commissioned by Galeazzo Maria to honor his sister, and out of guilt for insisting on the marriage - not because the groom was too old, but because his sister was too young and small (or frail) to safely bear children at that age. She died from complications after giving birth. If, as you say, the lion was to honor Francesco Sforza for his former service to Venice, that would still be possible, the deck being given to William, for which a red and gold coat of arms would make sense.

The putative artist, Russi, was probably by 1472 at Urbino, but he still could have done it - or someone else, as it does not seem to me that there is anything that uniquely identifies him as the artist. If it could be shown that Russi also did the "Mantegna" cards (quite possible, since he was in Ferrara then), there would be more of a case for his doing the added cards, since there are similarities in composition. But that does not much affect the probability of their being done to honor Elisabetta.

However, the Ace of Coins is one of the first-artist cards. Does it make sense, given Francesco's animosity to William, for him to have been given a deck of cards with his coat of arms on it by the time it is estimated to have been done? If William was tutor to Galeazzo, he might have gotten back into Francesco's good graces, if that job started while Francesco was still alive. Galeazzo Maria was born in 1454, so it is possible. Would William have merited a deck by 1456-58? I suppose it depends on when peace was secured between the two realms, and that I don't know. The Bon hypothesis seems more likely, given that Russi was established in Venice and the prevailing view that the colors were red and silver.

Hi Mikeh.

You're suggesting that the Visconti Sforza deck was possibly initially created as a gift for someone in Venice, where a second commission was later placed with a Venetian artist. That is, the second commission was the initiative of the Venetian family who had received the first commission from Milan as a gift. If that Venetian family made the second commission, it seems a little strange to me that they would choose an image of a girl resembling Bianca Maria to decorate the new cards. Assuming that this girl is the daughter who died in 1472, perhaps the second commission was placed in Milan, requesting that they be painted by a Venetian artist? I don't know which is the most coherent theory, considering Venice, if we want to accept that the girl is Bianca Maria's daughter.

Thanks

Hello

I wrote my last post before seeing yours, that is, I was referring to what I discussed previously. Thanks for the information shared. I knew that Bianca Maria was opposed to the marriage, but I didn't know there had been enmity beforehand or that William had later become Galeazzo Maria Sforza's tutor. I don't know since when there had been an intention to marry William to Elisabetta. And we don't know since when William had been Galeazzo Maria's tutor. I suppose that "tutor" refers to something like protector or godfather. That could have happened after the marriage in 1469, since a wedding can represent union, alliance, and peace. The reconciliation could have happened earlier, as you say, at the birth of Galeazzo Maria. Tutor is similar to a godfather at a baptism. It's interesting to know that William held responsibilities in Milan after the assassination in 1476, although that seems late in the pack. Those people easily went from hatred to friendship, due to political interests. We could imagine that the first commission for the Visconti Sforza deck was produced in 1469 to celebrate the wedding of William and Elizabeth, but the dating of the deck is usually considered ten years older. It's true that the Bon shield is silver, but the knight's shield is more gilded than the rest of the decorative silver surrounding the shield. You say the Ace of Pentacles was made for the first commission. However, Iolon says the pips are from the second commission. He explained this in relation to the analysis of the gold. His theory is open to discussion, but I didn't find any debate on it, and I accepted it for the moment. I believe the court figures are from the first commission, according to Iolon's theory about the alloy of the gold leaf. That is, first a gold shield and then a silver shield. I don't know why, but sometimes I see the Ace of Pentacles shield with areas of purple paint. It's all very confusing. Thanks.