Pino Settanni's tarot cards, inspired by Calvin and Caravaggio, on display at the Rooms of Photography

From Aug. 30 to Nov. 26, 2023 The Rooms of Photography in Venice presents The Tarot Cards of Pino Settanni (1949-2010), among the most original and versatile authors of contemporary photography.

In 1994 Settanni devoted himself to the photographic series of tarot cards, the cards of the European tradition, prompted by his reading of Italo Calvino’s The Castle of Crossed Destinies, and paying personal and definitive homage to the studio painting of the artist who was his main iconographic reference, Caravaggio. Studying pictorial precedents devoted to playing cards, such as Dürer and Brueghel the Elder, and after six months of daily work in his studio, Settanni brings to life his tarot cards, whose figures are photographed with human likenesses.

On display for the occasion are 61 images, including the 22 Major Arcana, 16 figures of the Minor Arcana, and a previously unpublished selection of backstage photos, featuring the photographer himself on set. Images discovered during the digitization of the Settanni collection at theLuce Archives. In fact, the artist has been experiencing a growing rediscovery in recent years, with exhibitions and publications, following the acquisition by the Archivio Luce of his entire photographic fund, consisting of more than 60 thousand images. An immense patrimony of which the Archivio Luce takes care of complete preservation and digitization.

The exhibition is organized by Archivio Luce Cinecittà, in collaboration with Le Stanze della Fotografia.

Hours: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Wednesdays.

Image: The Tarot, Queen of Cups, detail. Photo by Pino Settanni - Archivio Luce Cinecittà

Pino Settanni's tarot cards, inspired by Calvin and Caravaggio, on display at the Rooms of Photography

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