The cards in James Ricklef’s Tarot of the Masters deck were inspired by classic paintings by old masters, such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Rubens, and Hieronymus Bosch. In preparation for creating this deck, James perused hundreds of works of art in order to find ones that would suit the seventy-eight cards of the Tarot. The classic works of art he found in this process then inspired his own illustrations for the cards.
Tarot Grandmaster Rachel Pollack has this to say about this deck:
“Tarot of the Masters is my new favorite deck. Not only does the choice of art wonderfully fit the Rider-Waite-Smith images we all know, James Ricklef has smartly decided to redraw them in his own hand rather than simply collage them. The result is a unified deck with wonderful colors and exciting scenes. Because the paintings are themselves so interesting they add extra layers of story – and therefore meaning – to the classic cards.”
This deck costs $50 (+ tax in California) and shipping. (Inquire for details about shipping cost.) This deck is an independent production with a very limited run, and so, as with most limited editions, it is destined to be a great investment. The third and final printing of this deck is still available. Contact James for information.
Note that James has written a book to accompany this deck, which you can purchase directly from the publisher.
About the Artist:
James Ricklef is a Los Angeles based tarot reader and teacher, and he has presented tarot workshops in major tarot conferences from the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium to the New York Readers Studio. In addition, he is the author of several books including Tarot Affirmations and the award-winning Tarot Tells the Tale, and he is the artist/creator of the Tarot of the Masters deck.