Sun, Mantegna Tarocchi — Antique Celestial Print

This plate personifies the Sun as Phoebus, charioteer of the heavens, while a falling figure and a scorpion below recall the myth of his son Phaethon, who begged to drive the chariot, lost control of the horses, and was struck down by Jupiter's thunderbolt before the constellation Scorpius. Because the Tarocchi's planetary cards are ordered by each body's apparent speed across the sky rather than by distance, the Sun falls fourth in the sequence, between Venus and Mars. The card belongs to the 50-engraving 'Tarocchi' E-series, engraved in northern Italy around 1465, which catalogues everything from human rank to the Muses, the arts, and the virtues on its climb toward the heavens — long linked to Andrea Mantegna's name, though most historians now doubt his involvement and the true engraver is still debated.

Materials & origin

• Material: 200 gsm gallery-grade, acid-free fine-art paper (FSC-certified).
• Print: Archival giclée, 12-colour printing, smooth matte finish for glare-free display.
• Artwork: Restored from a public-domain original; colour and detail digitally cleaned for large-format print.
• Origin: Made on demand and shipped from the print hub nearest you, cutting transit and waste.
• Framing: Sold unframed; ships rolled in a protective tube.