H. ZWIETASCH/©LANDESMUSEUM WÜRTTEMBERG, STUTTGART
Today’s show: “The World in Play: Luxury Cards, 1430–1540” is on view at the Met Cloisters in New York through Sunday, April 17. The exhibition features examples from the three decks of hand-painted playing cards that have survived from the late Middle Ages.
01
Queen of Stags, from The Stuttgart Playing Cards, German, Upper Rhineland, ca. 1430, paper (six layers in pasteboard) with gold ground and opaque paint over pen and ink.
H. ZWIETASCH/©LANDESMUSEUM WÜRTTEMBERG, STUTTGART
Under Knave of Ducks, from The Stuttgart Playing Cards, German, Upper Rhineland, ca. 1430, paper (six layers in pasteboard) with gold ground and opaque paint over pen and ink.
H. ZWIETASCH/©LANDESMUSEUM WÜRTTEMBERG, STUTTGART
9 of Hounds, from The Courtly Hunt Cards, workshop of Konrad Witz, German, Upper Rhineland, ca. 1440–45, paper (pasteboard) with watercolor, opaque paint, and gold over pen and ink.
©KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, VIENNA
5 of Herons, from The Courtly Hunt Cards, workshop of Konrad Witz, German, Upper Rhineland, ca. 1440–45, paper (pasteboard) with watercolor, opaque paint, and gold over pen and ink.
©KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, VIENNA
4 (Trumpeter) of Hungary, from The Courtly Household Cards, German, Upper Rhineland, ca. 1450, woodcut on paper (pasteboard) with watercolor, opaque paint, pen and ink, and tooled gold and silver.
©KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, VIENNA
6 (Lady-in-Waiting) of France, from The Courtly Household Cards, German, Upper Rhineland, ca. 1450, woodcut on paper (pasteboard) with watercolor, opaque paint, pen and ink, and tooled gold and silver.
©KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, VIENNA
Knave of Cups, from The Visconti Tarot, workshop of Bonifacio Bembo, Italian, Milan, ca. 1450, paper (pasteboard) with opaque paint on tooled gold ground.
©BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN
World, from The Visconti Tarot, workshop of Bonifacio Bembo, Italian, Milan, ca. 1450, paper (pasteboard) with opaque paint on tooled gold ground.
©BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN
Knave of Horns, from The Cloisters Playing Cards, South Netherlandish, Burgundian territories, ca. 1475–80, paper (four layers in pasteboard) with pen and ink, opaque paint, glazes, and applied silver and gold.
©THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK
Queen of Nooses, from The Cloisters Playing Cards, South Netherlandish, Burgundian territories, ca. 1475–80, paper (four layers in pasteboard) with pen and ink, opaque paint, glazes, and applied silver and gold.
©THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK
4 of Leafs, from The Playing Cards of Peter Flötner, Peter Flötner, published by Hans Christoph Zell, German, Nuremberg, ca. 1540, woodcut on paper with watercolor, opaque paint, and gold.
MONIKA RUNGE/©GERMANISCHES NATIONALMUSEUM, NUREMBERG
King of Bells, from The Playing Cards of Peter Flötner, Peter Flötner, published by Hans Christoph Zell, German, Nuremberg, ca. 1540, woodcut on paper with watercolor, opaque paint, and gold.
MONIKA RUNGE/©GERMANISCHES NATIONALMUSEUM, NUREMBERG