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Master of the E-Series Tarocchi

The Sun, plate 44 from Planets and Spheres

c. 1465
Engraving on paper
18.5 × 10.5 cm (7.3 × 4.1 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

These so-called tarot cards were probably used as teaching tools—pamphlets or sets of flashcards— for noblemen or students. They instilled the traditional hierarchies of society and philosophy in five ascending series: Ranks and Conditions of Men , Apollo and the Muses , Arts and Sciences , Planets and Spheres , and Genii and Virtues . Artists also reused figures from these engravings in their art. The tarrochi are sometimes found bound as books, reinforcing their educational content. The Sun , with its curious conjunction of the zodiac’s Scorpio and a falling child, comes from the series Planets and Spheres

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