Product Description

Dali assembled and painted 78 collages in his unique surrealist vision. An incredible deck for historians, art lovers, and collectors. The cards have full gilt edges. Booklet of instructions in English, French, and Spanish. Deluxe packaging.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #508686 in Books
• Published on: 1995-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Cards

Customer Reviews

Disappointing
I would like to clarify that in no way do I intend to denigrate the talents of the many artists who have devoted their energy and creativity to produce the many Tarot decks available. I would hope, however, that there is some agreement on the definition of a "great" artist beyond merely what pleases the viewer. Salvador Dali is considered one of the great artists of the 20th century, on a level above that of the other admittedly worthy artists who have created Tarot decks. Although I may be branded a snob for this, I mean no disrespect to anyone. However, if we cannot differentiate the historically significant from our own preferences, then we are not making a reasoned analysis, but merely expressing a personal opinion.

Another distinction is that some artists' work is in museums; others', in galleries. Dali is in the former group, while most Tarot artists would fall in the latter.

This, then, is the only Tarot deck created by a major artist in modern times, maybe in any time. Although many decks have been "inspired" by or based on the work of great painters, those artists did not originally intend their work to be used in the Tarot. And while a theory posits that the original Major Arcana figures were based on works by Giotto di Bondone, there is no record of Giotto himself having created a Tarot deck. Although many beautiful decks have been created since the first extant decks from the 1300s, from the original hand-painted Italian Renaissance decks, to the profusion of decks in the last century, for some reason the subject matter of the Tarot has not inspired the great painters of history.

Not being an artist myself, I can only speculate on the reasons for this. Perhaps when an artist reaches a certain level, they want to create something entirely original, rather than a personal version of an established form, like the Tarot. This may be why Dali's version was doomed to fail. As the "greatest" artist to attempt a version of the Tarot, he must be held to a higher standard than the others. The expectation is, given his enormous talent and creativity, this Tarot should have been the most beautiful, the most evocative, the most mysterious.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. We will never know whether the prospect of creating 78 original paintings was too daunting for him, but his choice to design this deck as a set of collages of other artists' work hints at an attempt to take a shortcut in the creative aspect. Again, I don't mean to imply that collage is not a valid art form - the Victoria Regina Tarot is a collage deck and one of the best decks available, in terms of beauty, and in its powerful suggestion of realms beyond the mundane.

The failure of the Dali Tarot is not the medium but the presentation. Any additional associations the paintings may have had are destroyed by the deliberately clumsy, hand-drawn pips, the juvenile defacements, and the utter lack of any coherent vision. Based as it is on the Rider-Waite imagery (and this is, by no means, a requirement for a modern Tarot deck), Dali's flippant attitude results in what can only be called a parody of a real deck. This by itself could be forgiven - one aspect of modern art, after all, has been to deflate the historical pomposity of "great art" in general. The execution brings the rating down to three stars. What lowers it to two is the ridiculous presentation: the pointless gilt edging and the absurd price tag. I have no way of knowing if this was Dali's idea or that of the publisher's; otherwise I would have given it one star. That, and also that there are many other far worse decks, and the single star rating should be reserved for them.

This deck, then, is nothing more than a curiosity: an overpriced parody done by that master of surrealism, taking its due place among the many novelty decks available. We deserved more from Dali.

A remarkable deck
This deck is a gorgeous item. It's absolutely perfect for any fan of Dali, because it gives them 78 original works of art to appreciate and delve into.

Someone with a lot of experiance in tarot reading would appreciate the original and insigtful symbolism that stays true to the tarot, as well as love gold rimming. The box is remarkable. Many people might discard the box for a cheaper deck and use their own, special way of storing them. With this deck, you wouldn't dare. The cards are very large, which means shuffling requires some getting used to, but the larger cards somehow seem more appropriate in a tarot reading.

The deck is primarily spanish, with english as a secondary (major arcana are labled in both languages, but face cards are only spanish, so it might be worth remembering the spanish words for page and knight before doing a reading.) The booklet included with the deck is printed in 4 languages, including french and german.

One note on the book: Don't rely on it. Dali's symbolism can be a bit overwealming and difficult to understand for someone new to the tarot, making this an intimidating deck for biginners. All the booklet has is the meanings of the major arcana and a small description the the symbolism dali was using for each of them. It also shows 3 spreads, but gives no information on how to read them. In fact the most useful fart of the booklet may be the 3 paragraph introduction. If you are a beginner and want a guide, use any book, teacher or online resource you choose to get you started, the included booklet would be insufficient.

For an experianced Tarot reader, this is sure to be a delightful deck.

Very Beautiful Deck, HIghly Recommended for Dali fans!
This Tarot deck looks stunning. The Gold Boarders add to the awe of Dali's Paintings. If you like Dali Art these cards are a must for you. If you do not actually use the cards it might be a smart idea to just get the Salvador Dali Tarot Book by Rachel Pollack as everycard is beautifully printed in full size on a full page. That way you not only get to see the cards but also get a little explanation of each. If you cant find the book, get these cards!! Highly Recommended!! Great Deck!!