Art

The penultimate card of this series is Judgement.  It shows card shows the dead responding to the trumpet of the archangel Gabriel who, hovering aloft, …

The penultimate card of this series is Judgement.  It shows card shows the dead responding to the trumpet of the archangel Gabriel who, hovering aloft, symbolises a higher calling. The trumpet also alludes to “calling”. Its pennant of an equal cross symbolises balance (as in The Priestess), as well as the four elements and the four human attributes (mind, body, spirit, emotion).

The figures emerging from the tombs symbolize rebirth and enlightenment. They appear in a state of innocence (nudity) appealing to the angel, ready to be judged.

In the background, the mountains signify insurmountable obstacles and the impossibility of avoiding judgment.  They are wooded, which alludes to life.  The ocean represents the end of the river that flows through several of the previous images (The Empress, Death etc.).  It is also symbolic of cleansing and rebirth.

Much here derives from other cards in the series so I have deliberately used the same figures.  The Angel, man and woman are the same as in “the lovers”, and I have used the child from “The Sun”.

Done in DS3, prework on the backdrop and postwork on the water in CS2.