Occult Literature
The Emperor: Pamela Colman Smith’s Tarot Design
A bearded crowned figure sits upon a severe throne decorated with ram heads, holding a staff and an orb. Bare mountains rise beyond the strongly outlined seat. Smith makes the body's stable posture and the throne's repeated animal forms the source of the design's authority. The rocky background offers little of the vegetation surrounding the Empress, concentrating the scene upon stone, armour and held objects.
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Citation
Pamela Colman Smith (design). "The Emperor: Pamela Colman Smith’s Tarot Design" [editorial title]. In The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination, Dr. L. W. de Laurence. 1916 edition, 1916, De Laurence, Scott & Co.. Source scan leaf 55. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/tarot-smith-50
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Original source design and caption inspected; composition retained with scan margins trimmed. No reconstructed or recoloured details. Design credited to Pamela Colman Smith; reproduced in the active L. W. de Laurence volume. Card border, number and title retained.
Sources
From the book
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of DivinationDr. L. W. de Laurence1916More from this book
The Magician: Pamela Colman Smith’s Tarot Design
The High Priestess: Pamela Colman Smith’s Tarot
The Empress: Pamela Colman Smith’s Tarot DesignRelated illustrations
Cite this illustration
Pamela Colman Smith (design). The Emperor: Pamela Colman Smith’s Tarot Design. The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination. Scan leaf 55. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/tarot-smith-50