
Born: c.1527 - Milan
Died: July 11, 1593 - Milan

Important Art by Giuseppe ArcimboldoThe below artworks are the most important by Giuseppe Arcimboldo - that both overview the major creative periods, and highlight the greatest achievements by the artist. | |
![]() ![]() | Maximilian II, His Wife, and Three Children (1563)Artwork description & Analysis: Shortly after his appointment to the Habsburg court, Arcimboldo painted the unexceptional (in that the subject matter and style conformed to all the usual conventions associated with royal portraiture) Maximilian II, His Wife, and Three Children. However, Maximilian II is an important work in his oeuvre because it serves to illustrate an intermediate phase in the artist's move towards the full Mannerist style which came to stunning fruition only a year later through his commencement of his famous Four Seasons portraits. Indeed, the Four Seasons gave an indication of the wit and inventiveness for which Arcimboldo is much better known. The evolution of his unique style still remains difficult to trace, however, owing to the fact that so much of Arcimboldo's "conventional" work has been lost. Nevertheless, it is clear to see that his use of fruits, vegetables, animals and plants refer further back to his youthful nature studies. One might also find "Arcimboldesque" montage qualities in the artist's aforementioned stained glass works (little of which survives). |
![]() ![]() | Four Seasons (1563-1573)Artwork description & Analysis: Four Seasons is a series of four paintings, for which Arcimboldo is still perhaps best known. The series can be seen as the epitome of the Mannerist trait which emphasises the close relationship between mankind and nature. Each portrait represents one of the seasons and is made up of objects that characterise that particular time of year. Spring is a smiling young woman, whose face comprises pink and white blossom skin with a lily-bud nose and the ear of a tulip. Her hair is made up of colourful flowers while her dress is made of green plants and a white floral ruff. Summer is made up of seasonal fruit and vegetables, whose bright colours stand out against the dark background, Summer's smiling face reassures the viewer of the warm benevolence of the sunshine season. Autumn shows a man whose body is a broken barrel and whose face comprises a pear (nose), apple (cheek), pomegranate (chin) and mushroom (ear), all ripe to bursting. Autumn demonstrates the fertility of the seasons and, in his protruding tongue, the artist's anticipation for these ripened fruits. Winter is an old man wrapped in a straw mat. He is made up of an aged tree stump, with pieces of broken-off branch and scratched bark for his features, and a swollen mushroom for a mouth. Oil on canvas - Louvre Museum, Paris |
![]() ![]() | The Librarian (1566)Artwork description & Analysis: Though Arcimboldo is best known for his portraits made up of flowers, vegetables and fruits, the artist also made several portraits made of other assembled objects with relevance to the sitter. For example The Waiter (1574) depicts a server made up of crockery, whilst this portrait, The Librarian, is made up of objects that were associated with libraries. These include books (comprising the body, head and hair), study room curtains (the clothing) and animal-tail dusters (the beard). Oil on canvas - Skokloster Castle, Sweden |
![]() ![]() | The Jurist (1566)Artwork description & Analysis: The Jurist is a disturbing portrait of a member of the legal profession. His head is made up of poultry and fish and his body of legal documents. Whereas in previous portraits (such as Four Elements) Arcimboldo has chosen the collaged elements to represent the nobility and benevolence of his patrons, this portrait is intended to discredit and defame. The use of meat and poultry to make up the lawyer's face illustrates the artist's attitude towards his subject. The expression on the lawyer's face is sneering and his very person is made up of what is thought to be rotting flesh. Particularly distasteful are his fish-bone moustache, fish tail beard and decapitated frog nose. Oil on canvas - National museum, Stockholm, Sweden |
![]() ![]() | Vegetables In A Bowl Or The Gardener (1587-1590)Artwork description & Analysis: This painting is one of several by the artist that can be viewed in reverse, showing a still-life from one perspective and a portrait from the other (sometimes referred to as an "Arcimboldo palindrome"). It is thought that Arcimboldo painted the works first as still lifes, subsequently rotating them to reveal and adjust the faces. X-ray evidence shows that this process often required the artist to repaint some of the fruits, having changed their positions. Oil on wood - Museo Civico "Ala Ponzone", Cremona, Italy |
![]() ![]() | Flora (1589)Artwork description & Analysis: The subject of the portrait is Flora, the Roman goddess of flowering plants, fruit and the spring. Typically for the artist, her form is composed of whole flowers, buds, petals, stems and leaves. However this portrait, and Vertumnus which follows it, stand out from their predecessors due to their subtlety and delicacy of technique. Oil on board - Private collection |
![]() ![]() | Vertumnus (c.1590-1591)Artwork description & Analysis: Vertumnus is a portrait of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, whom the artist has portrayed as the eponymous Roman god of the seasons, growth, gardens, fruit trees and metamorphosis in nature. It was painted after Arcimboldo returned to Milan and is made out of flowers as well as fruits and vegetables from all four seasons, including apples, pears, grapes, cherries, plums, pomegranates, figs, beans, peas in their pods, corn, onions, artichokes and olives. Oil on panel - Skokloster Castle, Sweden |
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Content compiled and written by Dawn Kanter
Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors
" Artist Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. . TheArtStory.org
Content compiled and written by Dawn Kanter
Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors
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