The Golden Art Nouveau Tarot

[Shaira]

Hi everyone,

 

I almost never buy decks - in 40 or so years of reading tarot, I've managed to accumulate six decks in total. For years I read just the Sacred Rose, had a brief foray into the Thoth, but returned to the Rose; and then, three years ago, I bought and fell in love with the Radiant Wise Spirit, which I've been reading ever since. It's a wonderfully vibrant, well-made, sturdy, borderless deck that conveys with very high faithfulness Pamela's original drawings. 

 

A couple of weeks ago I discovered the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot, and thought it was beautiful. So, completely on impulse, I bought it, and it arrived today. 

 

I'll post some photos later. But, right now, sadly, I'm a bit underwhelmed. 

 

Don't get me wrong: the images on the cards are beautiful, and they're decorated with gold foil, truly stunning. But unfortunately the cards themselves are... well, they're a bit flimsy, the cardstock feels like a deck of cards you'd buy in a corner shop, it's a bit thin, and the colours are a little muted and subtle. The cards themselves are quite narrow, and additionally have a white border, which makes the real estate occupied by the images even smaller. Given those images are effectively RWS clones in an art nouveau style, they need space to breathe, and right now my first impression is that they simply don't stand up to the Radiant Wise Spirit in the slightest. Sure, sometimes the line inking on the RWS is a bit clunky, you lose some of Pamela's stylistic sophistication, but the cards themselves are just so exuberant, larger-than-life, sturdy, things, you really feel like you're handling "an object", which is not currently the vibe I get from the Golden Art Nouveau. 

 

I'm going to give myself a few days to get used to the Golden Art Nouveau Tarot (GANT?) deck, and see if my initial impressions change. But, right now, compared to the expectations of seeing the artwork online, the physical object is a bit of a letdown, and feels like a lost opportunity. These cards could have been amazing. 

 

I'll post a proper review later. Right now I just wanted to post my initial take literally 30 minutes after opening the box. 

 

We'll see!

 

Blessed be, 

 

Sarah 

[eggdropsoup]

> The cards themselves are quite narrow, and additionally have a white border, which makes the real estate occupied by the images even smaller. Given those images are effectively RWS clones in an art nouveau style, they need space to breathe, and right now my first impression is that they simply don't stand up to the Radiant Wise Spirit in the slightest.

 

I feel the exact same way about this deck. It's a shame because I've been on the hunt for a beautiful faithful RWS clone and I think this is one of the ones I like the most, but I don't like this one mostly for this exact reason. I also like the Tarot Mucha (whose art I think has better contrast than the Golden Art Nouveau) but again, feels super cramped...

[Twiggalina]

When I first saw this deck I was sure I was going to love it but alas it hasn't been the case. I like the artwork but the width of the cards puts me off. I have no idea why but I don't like narrow cards. I can understand why some people do like it though as it's very eye-catching.