Two brothers pattern of Tarot: Mantegna Tarot

Case : 137. 

The Mantegna Tarocchi are two different sets each of fifty 15th-century Italian old master prints in engraving, by two different unknown artists. The complete set is a humanistic model of the Renaissance cosmos. Despite their name, they are educational visual aids. They remain important examples of Italian engraving, and are mostly owned by museums as part of their collections of old master prints. The original two sets are called the Mantegna Tarot E-series and the Mantegna Tarot S-series, of which the E-series is generally considered the older. Their place and dates of creation are still debated, but Ferrara about 1465 (E-series) and 1470-5 (S-series) are considered most likely. Differences between the two show the E-series Master was more aware of the literary sources for his images. Most images are reversed between the series (i.e. mirror-images). Some subjects were copied from playing-cards, and some from other sources in contemporary art. Other designs had to be invented.