This monumental sculpture of the Tarot “Magician” and “High Priestess” is part fountain, part surreal building. Its open mouths and staring eyes are likely homages to the most famous sculpture in the nearby Mannerist gardens of Parco dei Mostri. At the center of the pool in front of the cascading water is the mechanized Wheel of Fortune by de Saint Phalle’s husband and fellow artist, Jean Tinguely. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Nestled within the gently rolling hills north of the Tuscany-Lazio border sits the last, most complex work of one of the twentieth century’s great artists.
Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) began her Tarot Garden (Il Giardino dei Tarocchi) in the late seventies, opened it to the public in 1998, and continued to work on it until her death in 2002. As the name suggests, the park consists of a series of sculptures based on a deck of Tarot cards.
Typical of large-scale art, the physical objects were designed by de Saint Phalle but made in collaboration with many people, including her husband, Jean Tinguely, as well as local artisans. The final, widely-varied works include static figures-in-the-round, kinetic machines, fountains, and sculptural buildings. One of these—the giant, sphinx-like Empress—comes complete with a bed- and bathroom, which de Saint Phalle actually lived in while working on the Garden.
Even more impressive is the fact that most of the sculptures, including the largest of them, are covered in de Saint Phalle’s signature wonky mosaic. Many of these individual tiles are themselves hand-painted, hand-carved, or molded mini-sculptures. The park thereby engrosses visitors on several levels, its sculptures demanding to be appreciated from a distance, walked around, passed through, and examined up-close. This push-pull of audience engagement is further emphasized through the many mirrored surfaces, which literally make the park’s surroundings and visitors part of the works.
Sources and further reading:
Il Giardino dei Tarocchi official website.
Ariel Levy, “Beautiful Monsters: Art and Obsession in Tuscany,” The New Yorker (April 11, 2016), accessed March 3 and 6, 2020. [Highly recommended for greater insight into the life and mind that led to the massive yet idiosyncratic undertaking of the Tarot Garden.]
Portmobility Civitavecchia, “The Tarot Garden: Masterpiece of Niki de Saint Phalle.”
Death by Niki de Saint Phalle in her park-like Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail in the Tarot Garden of Niki de Saint Phalle. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Detail of the Tree of Life, reimagined by de Saint Phalle as a many-headed snake. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail in the Tarot Garden of Niki de Saint Phalle. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Detail from the back of the Empress, a sculpture so large de Saint Phalle actually lived in it while at work on the rest of the her Tarot Garden in Tuscany, Italy. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail in the Tarot Garden of Niki de Saint Phalle. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
The Hanged Man in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail in the Tarot Garden of Niki de Saint Phalle. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
The Star in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail from the exterior of the Empress in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Detail of the courtyard inside the Emperor of Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail from Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
The hermaphroditic Devil by Niki de Saint Phalle in her Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail from Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Detail of the courtyard inside Niki de Saint Phalle’s Emperor. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail from Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Niki de Saint Phalle’s house-sized Empress, reimagined as a giant sphinx. Behind her appears the similarly giant Tower and Emperor. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Chandelier inside the Empress by Niki de Saint Phalle. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
For the World, a mosaic egg, snake, and woman by Niki de Saint Phalle rotate slowly at the top of a kinetic sculpture by Jean Tinguely. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
One of several, multi-lingual “no smoking” signs in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
The towering figure of Justice in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Ceiling detail from the interior of the Empress by Niki de Saint Phalle. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
The Hermit in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. This larger-than-life-size figure contains a space just big enough for one person to walk through. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
The Hierophant and Sun in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Detail of the courtyard inside Niki de Saint Phalle’s Emperor. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Interior of the Empress by Niki de Saint Phalle, with a window looking out to the rest of her Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
The Moon in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.
Mosaic detail in Niki de Saint Phalle’s Tarot Garden. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.