sitemap

VERSION 2.0 IN PROGRESS

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

+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+
XIV - Temperance
+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+

A winged nun stands in a stream, pouring water from one cup to another. A saint casts a blessing upon her from the sky. The stream is flanked by Irises and gentle green hills. A duck floats gently by.

My Interpretation: Moderation in all things. Having achieved many material and spiritual goals, now is a time of equilibrium. Appreciation of simple pleasures, and a sense of balance. Diplomacy and skilled negotation of a mutually acceptable compromise. (Reversed: Rivalry, disharmony and conflict, although of a transient nature)

Edit notes to self: This card is similar to the Rider-Waite card in many respects, far more than my original version. Angel (or in this case, St Clare with wings grafted on), pouring water from one chalice to another, standing in a stream flanked by irises. Instead of the RWD's mysterious shining light on the horizon, I've put a saint giving blessing from a cloud. This was a common medieval motif. Still to do - pretty happy with it.

Sources:

Base Pic: Simone Martini, Italian painter, Sienese school (b. 1280/85, Siena, d. 1344, Avignon); St Clare and St Elizabeth of Hungary 1317 Fresco, 215 x 185 cm Cappella di San Martino, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi.

Wings: Antonio del Pollaiolo, Italian painter and sculptor, Florentine school (b. 1431/32, Firenze, d. 1498, Roma); Tobias and the Angel 1460 Wood Galleria Sabauda, Turin.

Landscape: Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian painter, Florentine school (b. 1449, Firenze, d. 1494, Firenze); Baptism of Christ 1486-90 Fresco Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence.

Plants: Dieric Bouts the Elder, Flemish painter (b. cca. 1415, Haarlem, d. 1475, Leuven); Ecce agnus Dei 1462-64 Wood, 53.8 x 41.2 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

Irises: Hugo Van Der Goes, Flemish painter (b. cca. 1440, Ghent, d. 1482, Bruxelles); The Adoration of the Shepherds 1476-79 Oil on wood, 253 x 304 cm Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

Chalices: Joos Van Wassenhove, Dutch painter (active c.1460-80); The Institution of the Eucharist 1473-75 Oil on wood, 331 x 335 cm Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino.

Water Pouring: Master of the Pfullendorf Altar, German painter (beginning of the 15th century); The Birth of Mary, Wood, 102.8 x 71 cm Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart.

Duck: Benozzo Gozzoli, Italian painter, Florentine school (b. cca. 1420, Firenze, d. 1497, Pistoia); Angels Worshipping 1459-60 Fresco Chapel, Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence.

Saint in Sky: Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian painter, Florentine school (b. 1449, Firenze, d. 1494, Firenze); Resurrection of the Boy 1482-85 Fresco Santa Trinità, Florence.

Sky: Antonello da Messina, Italian painter, Southern Italian school (b. cca. 1430, Messina, d 1479, Messina); St Sebastian 1476-77 Oil on canvas transferred from panel, 171 x 85.5 cm Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.

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.