sitemap

VERSION 2.0 IN PROGRESS

Temporary, for editorial feedback only - please do not bookmark or download

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+
0 - the Fool
+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

A woman with a faraway look sings to herself and beats a drum while wandering near a cliff edge. A small dog jumps at her skirt, trying to warn her of the danger of which she seems unaware.

My Interpretation: Blissful ignorance. Optimism, naive innocence. Disregard for potential risks. Foolishness and eccentricity, a wandering away from what society considers sane and normal. An unplanned and surprising influence may suddenly come to bear on the matter in question. (Reversed: Disregard for potential risks, withdrawl from society, apathy, lack of action, negligence)

Edit notes to self: This card is similar to the Rider-Waite card, although their Fool is male, carrying a bundle on a pole, and on top of the world on a sunny day in the RWD. I think this is similar enough to be familiar to RWD readers though. Still to do - Hmmm, does she look TOO foolish in that dorky hat? Are some people going to get defensive about a female being portrayed as the Fool? I'm pretty happy with it.

Sources:

Base Pic: Andrea Da Firenze, Italian painter, Florentine school (active 1343-1377, Firenze); The Church Militant and Triumphant 1365-68 Fresco Cappella Spagnuolo, Santa Maria Novella, Florence.

Dog and Cliff: Giotto di Bondone, Italian painter, Florentine school (b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze); Scenes from the Life of Joachim: Joachim among the Shepherds 1304-06 Fresco, 200 x 185 cm Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua.

Silly Hat: Simone Martini, Italian painter, Sienese school (b. 1280/85, Siena, d. 1344, Avignon); Saint Martin Renounces his Weapons 1312-17 Fresco, Cappella di San Martino, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi.

Jewels: Simone Martini, Italian painter, Sienese school (b. 1280/85, Siena, d. 1344, Avignon); The Cambridge Altarpiece Polyptych 1320-25 Tempera on wood, 59 x 35 cm Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

Parchment Text Panel: Unknown Illuminators, England; The Aberdeen Bestiary (Aberdeen University Library MS 24), written and illuminated around 1200. Aberdeen University, Scotland.

Gilt Border: Conrad Witz, Swiss painter (b. cca 1400, Rottweil, d. cca. 1445, Basel); King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 1435 Panel, 84 x 79 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin.