Francesco Clemente

The work of painter Francesco Clemente has always drawn on many esoteric traditions. He finds inspiration in a variety of visual languages, ranging from the Tantric diagrams of India to the »Candomblé« ceremonial implements of Brazil. With the execution of his own deck of Tarot Cards, begun in 2008, Clemente's interest in the occult has become more evident in his work. Nonetheless, he remains an artist rather than an occultist, and his Tarot Cards resist too literal an interpretation.This book reproduces all 78 of Clementes Tarot Cards; it also presents 12 self-portraits of the artist as the 12 apostles. Both these series of works are to be shown for the first time at The Uffizi Gallery, Florence, in the autumn. The 90 colour illustrations are accompanied by texts by Max Seidel, Marzia Faietti, Antonio Natali and Francesco Pellizzi.