I Tarocchi di Vetro (Crystal Tarot) and Paul Klee?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

firemaiden	10 Feb 2004
Has anyone much thought about possible artist influences for Elisabeth Trevisan's breathtaking Tarocchi di Vetro (aka Crystal Tarot)? I've been contemplating the Ace of Cups (attached). its been bothering me...because the top half, the city in the cup, reminds me of something. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I finally realized, it reminds me of the print of a painting my mother used to have in her "boudoir" (LOL). I dimly remember (funny how paintings are entire worlds when we are children) this beautiful stained glass like world, of blues and purples, very magical, with lots of little squares. I thought I might be remembering a Cézanne, a Matisse, or a Chagall. Visits to online poster sites for these three artists brought me close to the cubistic stained-glass feel of the painting in my memory. Close, but no cigar... I emailed my mother, :) -- she remembered, she has a little Klee repro called "Moon in a bottle". With this clue, I combed the internet, and I see that the various Klee images available to be seen on the web certainly are in very much the vein of what I was thinking. Though I've still not found anything called "Moon in a Bottle", nor can I find quite the one I have in my dusty files of memory... Here is one of the many sites which show Paul Klee Posters -- paintings which are sort of like the one in my memory are "Red and White Domes", "Der Niessan", but most especially, "Cityscape with yellow windows". I'd love to hear any and all of your ideas about whose and which painting, this beautiful Ace of Cups most ressembles. I'm attaching the Ace of cups.

TemperanceAngel	10 Feb 2004
That card is amazing! I look at it and immediately think of cubism, but too colorful... Cubism with a splash of Matisse? My second thought was to my maths classroom in high school where we had crazy illustrations, that I used to sit and stare at, they amazed me, they looked like a maze in fact... There is an artist I have in mind and maybe it is Klee, let me just go check a book I have.... Yes, I do see Klee, but how about crossed with Joseph Stella's Battle of Lights, Coney Island....there we see the colors crossed with the symmetrical side of Klee. xTAx

firemaiden	10 Feb 2004
Yes, definitely cubism... You know, I still have it stuck in my mind (it's the francomaniac in me) that the picture in my mind is a Cézanne. Here is a pre-cubist Cezanne, The Gulf of Marseille (how appropriate for a Marseille based deck) the hills in the back-ground, with the squared shapes of blues... that's the sort of thing I have in my mind.... Help me identify my phantom painting..!

TemperanceAngel	10 Feb 2004
Your so right, firemaiden :D I think that is who I was thinking of when I said Matisse....Cezanne. I like a challenge, give me some time..... xTAx

firemaiden	10 Feb 2004
Oh Temperance Angel, I agree with you about Matisse! I see Matisse, Cézanne, Picasso, Chagall, Klee, what else?

TemperanceAngel	10 Feb 2004
Ooo ooo, that wasn't too long, sorry no sites for you, but what about: Mont Ste-Victoire Paul Cezanne 1904-6? There are two versions that I am aware of (maybe more?), one which has the same colors as your card ;) xTAx Edited to add after seeing your post I can't help think of Monet...and Rothko, but a mix of the last paintings he did combined with his early 1930's surrealist work (yuk)....

Strange2	11 Feb 2004
Per the LWB that comes with the Crystal Tarot: "The Crystal Tarot is inspired by Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918), a Viennese painter who was one of the greatest leaders of the artistic cultural movement known as Liberty, Art Nouveau, or Secession." Here's some links to a site featuring lots of Klimt's works: http://www.expo-klimt.com/index.cfm Paintings: http://www.expo-klimt.com/1_4.cfm I don't specifically see a painting there that reminds me of the Ace of Cups. The "Stocletfrieze" paintings do show the intricate interweaving of the geometric and the fantastic that the Crystal Tarot exhibits. Check out the Stocletfrieze: Life Tree!

firemaiden	11 Feb 2004
Yes, the LWB does say Klimt, doesn't it. LOL. I just don't see the ressemblance though, LOL. (Not fond of Klimt. Don't shoot me, please!) I see much more Klee, Chagall, Matisse and Cézanne... I've got to check out the artists you've mentioned, TA. I'll get back to you. :)

The I Tarocchi di Vetro (Crystal Tarot) and Paul Klee? thread was originally posted on 10 Feb 2004 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.