print;
playing-card
- Museum number
- 1845,0825.351
- Description
-
The Sun; the god in the sky holds the emblem of the sun and steers a chariot drawn by four horses, over land that is divided by a river, with a scorpion above; the figure of Phaeton captured in mid-air as he falls; inscribed at lower left: 'A', at lower centre: 'SOL XXXXIIII' and at lower right: '44'; encircled by a frame of diamonds. c.1470-80
Engraving
- Production date
- 1470-1480 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 175 millimetres
-
Width: 92 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- The print belongs to the second version (called 'S series') of a group of fifty engravings traditionally known as the 'Tarocchi Cards of Mantegna' (for this set see the entry for Hind E.I.1a: P&D 1895-9-15-1). It is one of ten images in the fifth and last group of the set marked with the letter "A" and illustrates the ' Firmaments of the Universe'. The seven circles of the sun, moon and planets are followed by the sphere of the fixed stars, the Prime Mover and the First Cause (the dwelling place of God). The iconography of this images is based on the Libellus de imaginibus deorum, a treatise composed by an anonymous author around 1400, in its turn related to the Ovide Moralise.
Another impression of Hind E.I.44b is in the BM (P&D 1868-22-11).
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1845
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1845,0825.351
