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Art Playing Cards Leonardo | Edition Silver
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About Art Playing Cards Leonardo | Edition Silver
Please note the handwork on each suit and value - every card is unique, a real labor of love. Jack of Spades Known to players and collectors alike as the One-Eyed Jack, this card is based on The Bust of a Warrior in Profile, in The British Museum, a work expertly done in silverpoint, a favorite medium of Renaissance artists. The large crossbow machines, an unrealized invention, are from a separate drawing of Leonardo's, from his sketchbook The Atlantic Codex (ca. 1488). Compositing this card together, from the single head to the crossbow elements, and sharing it with my colleagues, initiated the idea of designing playing cards based on the works of Leonardo. Queen of Clubs Some vintage decks portray this Queen as The Flower Queen, and this drawing of an unknown woman's head from The Galleria degli Uffizi in Firenze combined with a selection of his original sketchbook renderings of nature truly bring the forests of his native Toscana to life. Note the lovely pen and ink sketch of a small Italian town on the river Arno, which is the first dated drawing (1473) we have from the master. Ace of Spades This anatomical study of a human skull from The Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, was a natural match for the Ace of Spades, known in the world of playing cards as The Death Card. One of Leonardo's Polyhedra was interpolated ominously into the center. He drew these geometrical illustrations for his friend Luca Pacioli's book The Divine Proportion. They are believed to be the first of their kind. King of Hearts This is The Suicide King, one of the most fascinating face cards. It features one of the warriors from The Battle of Anghiari, although the original is lost to us. Luckily, the Peter Paul Rubens copy (itself based on an engraving by Lorenzo Zacchia) provides a glimpse into the power of the Leonardo original. Careful manipulation of the sword arm yields the ferocity. Leonardo was unsurpassed in his ...
