My research systematically explored one of the most compelling aspects of 15th-century visual culture: the emergence of the tarot and the definition of its iconographic repertoire. The study focused initially on the Colleoni deck—currently divided among the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Morgan Library & Museum in New York, and a private collection. On account of its completeness and exceptional artistry, this deck provided the main model for tracing the original developments of what was formerly known as the ludus triumphorum.

My research was prompted by a critical observation: Although historiography has convincingly clarified issues of authorship, chronology, and Visconti-Sforza patronage, fundamental questions persist regarding the origins of the cards’ images and related iconographic sources. The primary objective, therefore, was to reconstruct the process that, within a few decades, was to lead to the formation of a stable figurative sequence—one destined for enduring success. 

My methodology combined formal art-historical analysis with comparative studies of surviving 15th-century Milanese and Florentine decks. This approach drew upon archival and literary sources to reconstruct the cultural milieu of Italian courts during the transition from the late Middle Ages to the early Renaissance. Close attention was given to the text of the Tractatus de deificatione sexdecim heroum, in which Marziano da Tortona (c. 1360–1425) describes a game devised for Filippo Maria Visconti (1392–1447) around 1415, painted by Michelino da Besozzo (c. 1388–c. 1454). Michelino’s lost deck was not a “tarot” deck in the technical sense of the term, yet it introduced a pivotal innovation: the inclusion of allegorical “superior” cards within a standard deck, setting a fundamental conceptual precedent for subsequent examples.

My research demonstrated that between Michelino’s deck and the first surviving Visconti-Sforza tarot decks, there was an intermediate developmental phase wherein the number and nature of the allegorical cards gradually stabilized. In this process, triumphal processions, which were widespread across 15th-century Italian courts, played a decisive role. Contemporary accounts of public ceremonies—triumphs, solemn entries, and sacred representations—describe allegorical floats featuring personifications of Love, Death, and Justice. The trionfi cards then emerged as a symbolic transposition of these allegorical sequences.

Simultaneously, I explored the influence of Milanese court humanists, such as Pier Candido Decembrio (1399–1477), Guiniforte Barzizza (1406–1463), and Francesco Filelfo (1398–1481). Their philological work on classical and vernacular texts fostered a climate where ancient traditions were reinterpreted with both rigor and creative freedom. Within this milieu, the success of Petrarch’s Trionfi proved pivotal; widely read due in part to its use of the vernacular, the poem likely provided the conceptual framework for an allegorical journey that mirrored the sequence of trionfi within the tarot deck. This accounts for the direct correspondences between Petrarch’s poem and the 15th-century deck: The Triumph of Love finds its counterpart in the Lovers, the Triumph of Death in its namesake card, and the Triumph of Time in the Hermit. This connection also explains why, throughout the 15th century, the term trionfi referred both to the entire deck and to the “special” cards added to the traditional deck; the word “tarot” did not appear until the following century.

A key finding of this research is that the originality of the tarot does not reside in the invention of individual images. Many motifs—such as the Virtues, Wheel of Fortune, Death, Emperor, and Pope—were already well established in other media; its uniqueness lies instead in the organization of these figures into a coherent, hierarchical sequence. While the figures belong to a long-standing medieval and proto-Renaissance tradition, the innovation lies in their specific combination, which creates a unified symbolic journey. The 15th-century tarot, particularly the Milanese examples, later became a cultural melting pot where medieval elements were preserved and then transformed during the transition to the Renaissance.

In conclusion, my research illustrated that the tarot was the product of a sophisticated, multilayer process nurtured within an experimental courtly environment. Milan played a central role, not only for the early date and exceptional quality of its surviving decks but also for the intellectual vitality of its scholars. By reconstructing the path that led to the definition of the ludus triumphorum, this study clarified how a figurative tradition came to establish itself in the 15th century, attaining lasting success even while gradually shifting its original meaning over time.

Fondazione Accademia Carrara
Beinecke Visiting Senior Fellow, June–August 2025

Paolo Plebani has returned to his position as chief curator at the Fondazione Accademia Carrara in Bergamo. His research on 15th-century tarot cards has developed into a larger exhibition project, tracing the tarot cards’ history from their origins to the present day.