Tarot in Paris
A trip to Paris (April 2010) meant I was able to visit the Musée Français de la Carte à Jouer, a museum dedicated to playing cards, which houses both temporary and permanent exhibitions.
The Musee is perhaps a 20 minute Metro ride from the centre of Paris – travelling on Metro 12 to Mairie d'Issy. A short walk up the hill to the left of the station exit and you see the signage clearly.
Unfortunately I was at an incredible disadvantage as I do not speak French, and although the delightful woman on the desk was trying to be ever so accommodating, her limited English mixed with my non existent French, meant communication was tricky and much was – well shall we say – lost in translation!
Posters and signage however indicated clearly that there was a temporary exhibition going on upstairs. And I was delighted to find it was Italian artist Pino Settanni's – Tarot Vivant (Living Tarot) – a collection of 78 gorgeous photographs.
My understanding now is that these works were something he created in 1994 – the 22 Majors and 16 Courts are photographs of actual people, their costumes and props in the distinctive Marseille colouring of blue, yellow, red and green (and in this instance, a splash of purple). All stunningly vibrant on a solid black background.
The 52 minor arcana cards showcased wooden artist models, all brightly painted in the same familiar colour way, positioned on a wooden easel with either a red vase/jug (cups), a yellow disc (pentacles), a green club (wands) or a blue sword (swords).
All the images are depicted solely by women, except for The Fool, who is in fact Mario Scaccia, a great actor in Italian theatre.
Settanni's pre photography sketches (there is probably a technical term for these!) also adorned the walls – and although a deck of cards was obviously produced at some point, as framed sheet of cards hung on the wall, and there was a boxed set in a glass case they were unfortunately not available for sale. Out of print perhaps?
The downstairs area housed a large room, filled with a wonderful collection and whilst there is not a huge number of tarot cards on display – what is there, is still worth a look.
For tarot lovers - a selection of postcards and prints are available to purchase. All in the Marseille style but not a full set of anything! There were a few decks of cards but nothing that tempted me on this occasion.
I would like to visit again, though I must add, having someone that speaks French to accompany me would be a definate advantage.
the Musee website says:
This collection has as its foundation, the donation in 1930 of the collector Louis Chardonneret and has much interesting material. From 1986 the collection has grown, particularly by acquiring the collection of mainly modern cards formed by the late Robert Thissen and some rare early cards.
Musée Français de la Carte à Jouer
16 rue Auguste-Gervais F-92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux, (Paris) FRANCE