Pre-Raphaelite Paintings and Tarot
Full Circle: The surprising connection between Pre-Raphaelite paintings and Tarot
Whether it’s online, in a gallery window, or at a museum exhibit like the Love & Desire: Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces from the Tate that I explored in Canberra at the National Art Gallery in 2019, something really strikes me about Pre-Raphaelite paintings. It’s not just their beauty or luminous colours, I’m often surprised to see what looks like Tarot archetypes and symbols in them as well.
In Tarot, each Major Arcana card is an archetype – a widely recognisable figure with specific physical and personality characteristics . On a smaller level, there are symbols. These are forms and shapes that have special significance. For example, in Tarot, the triangle often signifies a rising of the spirit to a higher consciousness or, in certain cases, like The Chariot card in the Rider-Waite deck, the power of one entity over another.
Some of the Tarot archetypes and symbols I’ve found in Pre-Raphaelite works, like the Wheel of Fortune depicted so compellingly in a painting by Edward Burne-Jones, belong to a shared mythology and imagery that has been part of the Western world for centuries. But other connections are more subtle.
The Lady of Shallot by John William Waterhouse 1888
Take John William Waterhouse’s painting “The Lady of Shallot”. Here, The Hanged Man (a Jesus archetype) is on the crucifix that lies behind the candles at the bow of the boat. The Lady of Shallot has a chain around her right hand, mirroring Christ on the cross. Note: I’m not sure I understand this – I would expect there to be something on both of her hands, to suggest the Crucifixion? Maybe explain this a bit further? According to some sources, the candles are a symbol of life or death (depending on if they are lit or have been snuffed out). I also see in them a connection to the 3 of Wands.
Let’s look at another example of where Pre-Raphaelite art and Tarot archetypes seem to meet. In “The Magic Circle”, also by Waterhouse, we see a woman by a cauldron. She is making magic, like the crone (or Hermit) in the Tarot cards. Or is she The Magician? As a woman working with magic, she could also be the embodiment of the Queen of Wands, a seer....
In Edward Burne-Jones’s “Fortitude”, I see the Queen of Swords. The composition of the same artist’s “Garden of Pan” evokes the Rider-Waite deck’s Devil card.
Ophelia by John Everett-Millais 1851-52 at the National Art Gallery in Canberra in April 2019
In John Everett Millais’ famous “Ophelia”, I see an echo of the Death card. What in Ophelia’s story has us dying now?
Despite these compelling connections, there’s no known ties between the key members of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood and Tarot. The artists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, which dates from about 1848 to the early 20th century, drew what their influences mainly from nature, history, and medieval art. Their name, in fact, refers to the fact that they believed that before Raphael – that is, medieval and early Renaissance works – had more purity and value than what’s come after.
But is it possible that in drawing inspiration from motifs in medieval art, as well as general human and artistic history, the Pre-Raphaelites represented some Tarot archetypes and symbols without realising it?
The answer is complex.
The Wheel of Fortune by 1871-85 by Edward Burne Jones
The earliest known Tarot cards, which date to the 14th century AD, featured images that would become known as the Major Arcana. Gertrude Moakley, a historian who specialises in Tarot, claims that the Major Arcana archetypes draw their origin from characters that people would have been familiar with from parades they saw during carnival season. Other historians believe that these figures were related to scenes of everyday life at the time.
Still others argue that the early Tarot decks were heavily influenced by things like alchemy or Christian symbolism. There’s a really interesting thread on that last one, which includes a long explanation of specific Christian symbols, here.
Whatever the true secret(s) behind the Tarot may be, the oldest known decks’ artwork is very much in the medieval and early Renaissance style. Now that you’ve had a look at some Pre-Raphaelite images, take a look at these cards, from the earliest known Tarot cards, collectively called the Visconti-Sforza deck. You can see vivid colors, geometric patterns, and striking, enigmatic figures – just like what you’d find in a typical Pre-Raphaelite painting.
While the Pre-Raphaelite artists may not have ever seen these exact images, they definitely were familiar with other art and imagery created around the same time and place. So, in a sense, yes, there could very well be some echoes of Tarot symbols and figures in Pre-Raphaelite art, simply due to shared sources of inspiration and use of common motifs and figures found in medieval and early Renaissance art.
There’s more to the story, though.
The most well-known and frequently used Tarot deck today is probably the Rider-Waite deck. A collaboration between A.E. Waite, who described the images he wanted on each card, and artist Pamela Colman Smith, the deck was first published in 1909. This was well after the start of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, so of course this deck couldn’t have influenced Pre-Raphaelite artists. But Pamela Colman Smith’s work was influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, which had strong ties to the Pre-Raphaelites.
It’s fascinating how it’s all one great big circle. Pre-Raphaelite artists were inspired by the same sources that the first known Tarot decks sprang from, and may even have unknowingly included Tarot archetypes and symbols in their work. And their art, or art from other movements they were involved with, has gone on to influence Tarot artists, from Pamela Colman Smith, to Luigi Costa, whose Pre-Raphaelite Tarot deck was released in March of this year!
Are there any Tarot archetypes or images you’ve found in works of art – Pre-Raphaelite or otherwise? If so, you may find a fascinating story behind them!